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Please note: AARNet is planning to decommission CloudStor at the end of 2023 (FileSender will continue as a standalone service). We will be directly notifying users over the coming months. See FAQs for more information.

Use encryption when sending files

  • Updated

FileSender supports full end-to-end encryption using the industry-standard AES-256 encryption. If you enable encryption, FileSender will encrypt files in your web browser before it uploads them. If the recipient enters the same password that you used to encrypt the files, FileSender will decrypt the files after they download the files in their web browser. This means that the files are encrypted at every point when they’re in transit.

Note: If you’ve enabled encryption when sending files, you must record the password that you used. FileSender uses this to encrypt the files, and without it, the recipient won’t be able to read the files. If you lose this password, your only option is to resend the files; AARNet Support cannot help you to decrypt the files.

FileSender’s encryption process uses GCM mode to protect the integrity of encrypted files. This ensures the information you encrypt is exactly the same when it is decrypted. Once data is encrypted in your browser, it cannot be intercepted and modified without FileSender detecting the change when it decrypts the files and halting the process.

Encryption may impact your processing, upload, and download speeds. Files are encrypted and decrypted in the web browser, so batches of files larger than 4 GB may not transfer. If you need to send more than 4 GB of encrypted files, we recommend sending them in multiple batches.

Encrypt your FileSender files

  1. Add your files and fill out the recipient details. Find out more about how to send a file with FileSender.
  2. At the bottom of the left column, toggle File Encryption.

  3. Enter a unique password that you can send to the recipient after you upload and send your files. We advise that you do this via a separate communication channel, preferably one that is secure or encrypted, such as Slack or Signal.
    If you send the password to the same email address as the FileSender invitation, you negate most of the security you gain by encrypting the files – anyone with access to the recipient’s email can also decrypt the files you send.
    Click Generate password to have FileSender automatically generate a password for you.
  4. Finish your configuration and click Send.

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