In the following weeks we'll be upgrading Folders.io to add permanent storage in top of the current file streaming service, thus conforming a product unique of its kind that we have dubbed Hybrid Cloud Storage.

Besides being able to share your files while you're offline, we're offering the possibility to protect your sharing links behind a password.
Other various enhancements have been made, and you'll also notice improved speed and stability.


We need YOU!

We're reaching out to our user community for those who are interested in giving this a try before we make it public.
As a beta tester, you'll receive a Silver premium account (30 GB of storage) for free during the testing period. As a token of appreciation, those folks who provide valuable feedback will get to keep the premium account for three more months, for free.

If you are interested, please send a note to beta@folders.io to receive more information by return.


Thanks!

Just a quick note to let you know we've set in a place a new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, which now should give a more complete understanding of how we protect your data and your responsibilities when using the service.

In a few words, the Privacy Policy explains you own your files and we don't claim any ownership over them. We also don't monitor, screen or review the files that go through our systems, unless to comply with legal requests.

In the Terms of Service we explain our stance on copyright, which is we do not condone piracy. You should not use our service to publicly share copyrighted files whose copyright you don't own.

These documents are written in the light of the new permanent file storing option we'll start offering soon, along with a revamp of the characteristics of the plans we currently offer. Stay tuned!

We've just rolled out an update that allows premium accounts to have each one their own subdomain, and the ability to customize and reuse the code at the end of the link. So the link would look something like this:

This is the first step towards another set of features we're preparing for premiums accounts: user management and permanent storage.

Through user management you'll be able to protect your files behind a password, and audit the download activity of each one of the users you grant access to.

Permanent storage is simply the ability to have your files stored in our servers so they can be accessed even when you're offline. You'll have total control selecting for what files to turn this feature on, and we're carefully designing this so the experience remains as simple and straightforward as it is now.

We've been using for a week now a new feedback & support system powered by Uservoice with good results. The new features we're working on are listed as ideas there, so you can comment on them or even add new ideas for consideration. Also please use that for any question (or praise!) you might have.

This update is coming out now, and any folders.io page currently serving files needs to be reloaded. A few other minor problems have been addressed, like the facebook sign-in integration.

Although we don't have yet an interface targeted at mobile devices, Mobile Safari and the Android web browser are advanced enough to receive files from a folders.io link.
Android's even lets you to upload files as well.

So you could easily use this to wirelessly sync your files between your computer and your cellphone through the web, by just writing the link into your mobile browser.

Actually that last step is now much more fun and easier with the new QR Code we've just added after you start serving the files:


Just hover the mouse pointer over that icon to get a bigger image, point your phone's camera to it, and you should get the URL to click on. Piece of cake.

We've just published a Folders.io app in the Chrome web store.

If you install the app, the experience will be the same as simply visiting the web site at http://folders.io, with the added benefit that you can close your browser and files will be continued to be served in the background!
You'll see notification pop-ups in your desktop every time a file is transfered, and you can bring back the list of files by right-clicking on the Chrome icon in the task tray (for Windows) or the dock (for Mac) and selecting Folders.io.

This goes hand in hand with a new "Clear" button, that allows you to clear the list of files currently being served, so you can stop the server or add a different set of files and folders.

Also, a lot of performance improvements have been added during the last month, that will help specially when serving lots of files.

Oh, and we've got new forums. Make sure you pay a visit!

Easy File Transfer for the Masses

When we first launched this service we put all our energy into delivering the easiest way in the planet to share and send files of any size from your personal computer.
After lots of testing we think we've been able to accomplish this mandate, so now we're allotting more time into developing some extra features that should provide an even more enjoyable experience.

First of all, on the client side you now can stream music and video files, so you can enjoy their content without having to wait for the entire files to be downloaded. The file format support varies depending on the browser and platform used on the client side.
Also you now can preview images, scaled down into a small popup window.

We have also improved mobile devices support. The user experience is still the same as when using a regular desktop browser. The creation of a more mobile-friendly interface is in our roadmap, but in the meantime this single interface is perfectly usable.


Two-Way File Transfer

So far folders.io has been a great solution to provide other people access to your files. But what if you'd like to open your computer for other people to also send you files?

We have rolled out a feature just for that, nicely integrated into the current solution.
After you start sharing your files, just tick the checkbox "Allow others to upload files to this computer". Users will see on the client side a new button for them to upload files, in a single step. Those files will start to be transferred immediately to the server side. Depending on your browser settings, they will be deployed no questions asked into your downloads folder, or you'll need to authorize each download.

This new feature has been tested across all major modern browsers, and it even works on Android devices (iOS is not supported because their browser doesn't allow interaction with the file system).

That's it for now. We hope you enjoy these new improvements as much as we have enjoyed developing them. As usual any feedback is more than welcome!

The new logo and design are up, and the service is much more polished now. The premium plans have been revamped as well. The limitation on the number of transfers has been lifted and the plans differ only in the total amount of bandwidth allotted. We now support payments through Paypal.

At the moment the only difference between the free and the premium accounts is the allotted bandwitdh, but we're planning on offering much more functionality to the premium accounts such as permanent and password-protected URLs, direct link to files in E-mails sent, file uploading, download zipped files and a lot of other goodies

What features and the order in which we roll them out will only depend on the feedback we receive from our users. Please voice your ideas through the forum.

Enjoy!

I've just launched a new design contest for our logo.
Check it out at http://99designs.com/logo-design/contests/folders-io-needs-logo-84956

Welcome to Folders.io.

We're currently in Beta phase, so please use the feedback widget to report a problem, ask a question, or leave any kind of feedback. Also make sure you follow us on twitter @FoldersIo for updates about the service.

You can currently open paying accounts using Google Checkout sandbox accounts (used for testing), so all transactions are fake and free!

Enjoy your testing.