Pipe is a free Facebook app that lets you send or receive large files up to 1 GIG in size from other Facebook users that use the app, a perfect tool to send large media files to your Facebook community of you grandma, for example, who is not really sure what the difference is between Facebook, email, and the internet.
While there are a ton of services for sending large files (of which we have previously published a comparative overview), PIPE has a the attraction of giving you instant access to your Facebook community of friends. It makes the file sharing experience contained within Facebook itself (and right at your fingertips if you spend a lot of time on Facebook). Note that your files are sent directly, peer-to-peer, without storing your file on a third party server.
Note on Pipe security: your files are sent from your computer to your counterpart directly, without being stored on any server. This means that you do not have to worry about anyone else being able to access them, if that is a concern, but it also means that both you and your partner have to be online for the file transfer to take place. However, if that is not possible, there is an exception in that Pipe will offer to store your file in a ‘locker’ temporarily for 3 days, enough time for your friend to download it at their convenience (see third screenshot below right).
Most important, though is that your files are actually sent via a 128 bit AES encrypted channel, and without going through Facebook itself. It also does not post on your timeline to announce that you have shared or received files with anyone.
Strengths:
- Instant access: Access all of your Facebook contacts instantly
- Drag and drop: so simple your grandma can use it
- Send up to 1 GIG: which is on the larger side and we think will cover the needs of 99% of users)
- Security: peer to peer, no layovers, 128 bit AES encryption, does not go through facebook, does not publish anything on your timeline (see discussion above).
- Speed: depends on your and your friend’s internet connection.
Weaknesses:
- Cannot access Facebook users outside of your friend circle: which we thought would have been useful if you want to send them to contacts that you meet while playing Facebook games. Not a big criticism, though, as the cons of this may outweigh the pros.
The Verdict:
This is the only post I have ever written where I use the word ‘grandma’ three times, because the concept is very illustrative: that Pipe can be an ideal file sharing tool with people who are very not very tech savvy who will very likely be Facebook users, and that you might want to send large files to. It also is a very convenient tool when you want to share large files with your contacts who are VERY tech savvy as well.
Combine the ease of use and ease of access to your contacts with very solid peer-to-peer encrypted security, and you have a winner. Kudos to the developers for a job well done.
Want to send larger files? Check out our overview of send large file services.
Get Pipe here. (Thanks to reader Panzer for the tip about this service).
