Secure File Transfer for Free With Blockchain-Based Black Hole Service
We’ve covered a lot of file transfer services before, but recently we stumbled upon Black Hole, a relatively new service that uses the blockchain-based Blockstack network for user logins, file storage and delivery. (Best of all: it’s free.)
All files uploaded to Black Hole are encrypted first and then the data is split and transferred to other Blockstack users. This means that your files and personal data are kept completely confidential, even from Black Hole. Other users only have access to your public username.
Like almost any other file transfer service, Black Hole still has a limit on the size of uploaded files. The current free version limits your downloads to 512MB, but the next Plus version will increase this limit to 8GB. They are somewhat inferior to other services – for example, Dropbox Transfer starts with a 2GB file for free accounts, and many other services allow files up to 10GB or more.
However, Black Hole’s dependence on the blockchain means that all users have unlimited shared storage; download links never expire; and uploaded files can be downloaded by anyone with a link to the file from any browser, even if they don’t have a Black Hole or Blockstack account. (However, you will still have to register if you want to upload or send files). You will be hard pressed to find another service that offers all of these features (or any of them) for free.
Black Hole has both a web client and a Windows app. Both versions have all of the above features, but the Windows app has several unique advantages such as transfer history, the ability to delete and disable password-protected links and files.
If you’d like to try Black Hole, here’s how to register and upload files.
- Go to Blackhole.run
- Login / create a Blockstack account.
- Select either Web Client or Windows Client.
- Click to download the file, then select the file you want to transfer from the browser. You can also drag a file from your desktop to the download window, while those using a Windows application can also click to highlight the file and press CTRL + B to download it.
- Wait for the download to complete. (This may take a while, depending on the size of your file and the strength of your internet connection.)
- Upon completion, you will be provided with a personal download link. Only people who have the link can download the file, but the link does not expire, so there is no limit on the number of times it can be downloaded. Don’t forget that you can delete the previously downloaded file from the Black Hole Windows app.