Zas vs WeTransfer, AirDrop and the cloud
Each tool solves a part of it. Here is what each one does, where it falls short, and when Zas is the better fit. Nothing inflated: Zas is a hosted service, it is not end-to-end, and files delete themselves after five days.
Is it a WeTransfer alternative?
For the same job, yes: send a large file over a link without the other person needing an account. Zas also works both ways between your own devices, not only from you outward. With Directo you send up to 10 GB. The file is encrypted on your device before it leaves and deletes itself after five days, so nothing sits gathering dust on a server.
How is it different from AirDrop?
AirDrop is great between Apple devices sitting side by side. Zas is the bridge when the devices do not talk to each other: iPhone to Windows, Android to Mac, phone to browser. It does not replace AirDrop, it fills in where AirDrop cannot reach. And it starts in the browser, with nothing to install on the other side.
Why not just Google Drive or Dropbox?
Drive and Dropbox are warehouses: you store, organize folders, and pay to keep everything forever. Zas is a corridor, not a warehouse: things pass through, get used, and leave. When you only want a file to get from your phone to your computer right now, there is no account to set up and no extra folder to accumulate.
How do privacy and encryption compare?
Everything is encrypted on your device before it leaves; the servers receive encrypted bytes, not plaintext names or previews. A separate service derives the account keys, which is why Zas is not end-to-end and does not claim to be: we are honest about that. After five days the transfer is gone, so it is not left at risk either.
Do I need an account or an app?
Not to start. Open zas.red on both devices and send. An anonymous session allows up to 30 MB for two days; a free account raises the limit and how long it lasts. There are iOS and Android apps if you want them, but the browser is enough for most cases.
What about Smash, SwissTransfer or TransferNow?
They are close to WeTransfer: you upload the file to their server and share a link, with no account for the other person. They do that job well. Zas changes two things. First, with Directo the file travels from one browser to the other while both are open, leaving no copy in the middle; if the devices cannot reach each other, a relay passes the encrypted bytes without keeping them. Second, it works both ways between your own devices, not just from you outward. What is stored is encrypted on your device before it leaves and is deleted after five days. Zas is a hosted service, not end-to-end, and does not claim to be.
What happens to my files after I send them?
With Directo the file moves from one browser to the other while both are open, and no copy is left in the middle, unless the devices cannot connect: then Zas may keep an encrypted copy for 24 hours so the other person can still receive it. If instead you upload a stored transfer, it is encrypted on your device before it leaves and the server receives encrypted bytes, not the name or a plaintext preview. Every transfer deletes itself after five days (two without an account), and you can ask for less, down to one day. For the most sensitive things, a transfer can delete itself the moment the other person opens it. There is no trash and no way to recover it afterward. Zas is a hosted service, not end-to-end, and does not claim to be.
What about moving files between my own devices?
That is what Zas is built for, not only sending to someone else. With the same account open on your phone and your computer, you move files from the phone to the PC and from the PC to the phone, both ways, with no cables, no AirDrop, and no mailing links to yourself. With Directo the file travels from one browser to the other while both are open, leaving no copy in the middle; if the devices cannot reach each other, a relay passes the encrypted bytes without keeping them. It works across iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux, because it runs in the browser: they do not have to be the same brand or on the same Wi-Fi network. What is stored is encrypted on your device before it leaves. Zas is a hosted service, not end-to-end, and does not claim to be.
How do I get my WhatsApp photos and videos onto my computer?
WhatsApp keeps your photos and videos on the phone, and its backup is locked inside the app: you cannot open that backup anywhere else. To get them onto your PC, first save them to your gallery or Files from the chat, then send those files with Zas. Open zas.red on the phone and on the computer with the same account, pick the photos and videos, and they move from the phone to the PC with no cable, nothing to install on the PC, and no dependence on WhatsApp Web, which stalls on large batches or long videos. Zas does not read WhatsApp or open its backup: you choose which files to move. It works the same across iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux because it runs in the browser. What is stored is encrypted on your device before it leaves.
