Is Snapdrop safe? What each site does with your files in 2026

Is Snapdrop safe? It depends which one you open. snapdrop.net is now a LimeWire upload service that stores your file with LimeWire, has no privacy policy of its own and is flagged by uBlock Origin, while snapdrop.me is the original peer-to-peer Snapdrop, now linked by its creator. PairDrop is open source and peer-to-peer, with one caveat in its own FAQ, and sharedrop.io has gone the same way as snapdrop.net.

Is Snapdrop safe? Each site at a glance

Is snapdrop.net safe?

It works, but it isn't the tool people remember. snapdrop.net is now an upload page run by LimeWire: 'Files are stored by LimeWire and the link opens on limewire.com'. Without an account the link lasts three days, then the file is removed. Here's what that means for safety.

• Anyone with the link can open the file. In the site's words, 'The link is unguessable but it is not a password.' Forward the link and you've forwarded the file.
• There's no privacy policy or terms on snapdrop.net itself. Its /privacy and /terms pages return 'not found', and the homepage links to neither. LimeWire's privacy policy, dated September 2026, covers IP addresses, upload and download activity and file metadata, and says 'certain records may be retained after content or an account is deleted' where needed for legal, abuse or security reasons.
• uBlock Origin flags it. The extension's 'Badware risks' list, which is on by default, includes snapdrop.net following a February 2025 report (issue #27172). A commenter there summed up the problem: 'It is not clear you're uploading files to their servers.' In fairness, the page now says so plainly. It was still listed on 31 October 2026.
• Ads and a crypto banner. The page runs ad slots served by LimeWire, plus a top banner advertising a Bitcoin 'signals' tool.
• LimeWire has a new owner, according to a September 2026 press release. The release says the BabyDoge ecosystem acquired LimeWire and its founders are handing over control.

Verdict: reasonable for files you'd happily share by link anyway, like a flyer or a menu. For ID documents, contracts or private photos, use something that doesn't keep a copy. What changed, and when, is in Snapdrop not working? What changed after LimeWire.

Is snapdrop.me the real Snapdrop?

As far as the public record goes, yes. Snapdrop's creator, Robin Linus, re-created his Snapdrop repository on 14 September 2026 and pointed it at snapdrop.me, in a commit titled 'Replace snapdrop.net with snapdrop.me'. The site's footer links back to that GitHub account and its donation page. We found no press coverage or announcement beyond that.

It works the way classic Snapdrop did. Files go peer to peer over WebRTC, which encrypts them in transit, and its FAQ says 'None of your files are ever sent to any server.' Three things to know. The page tells you 'You can be discovered by everyone on this network', and there's no code to confirm who you're sending to, so on shared Wi-Fi check the device name before you tap. Text messages, unlike files, now go through its server, and the updated FAQ says text 'is not end-to-end encrypted and the server operator can read it', though it isn't stored or logged. And if a connection fails in Chrome, it may ask for the microphone to help, saying 'No audio is recorded or sent.'

Is PairDrop safe?

PairDrop is a legitimate open-source project: a GPL-3.0 fork of Snapdrop with more than 11,000 GitHub stars, run by an independent developer. It's genuinely peer-to-peer. On the same network files go straight between devices, and its FAQ says 'PairDrop doesn't even use a database.' Paired devices behind a NAT connect through PairDrop's TURN server, which relays the encrypted traffic without storing it.

The caveat comes from PairDrop itself. Its FAQ says: 'Your files are sent using WebRTC, encrypting them in transit. Still you have to trust the PairDrop server.' The planned fix, encrypted signalling and a way to mark devices as verified, is issue #180, open since October 2023. In the meantime PairDrop shows an optional security number you can compare on both devices, and you can self-host it with your own STUN and TURN servers.

Is it private? Your files aren't stored, though the two devices learn each other's IP addresses, as with any WebRTC tool. Is it maintained? Slowly: the last release was v1.11.2, on 24 February 2025, and the last code change was in April 2026. For everyday files it's a reasonable choice. For sensitive ones, compare the security number or run your own copy. Want something different? See PairDrop alternatives.

What about ShareDrop (sharedrop.io)?

sharedrop.io now says 'ShareDrop is part of LimeWire' and works like snapdrop.net: you upload, and 'Files are stored by LimeWire and are reachable only through the share link'. About the old peer-to-peer version, its own page is blunt: 'That version is gone.' It was reported to uBlock Origin in February 2025 because it 'uploads files to LimeWire servers without warning' (issue #27109). The full answer, including the classic version you can still run yourself, is in Is sharedrop.io safe to use?

Lookalike apps and sites using these names

• App Store apps. Search 'PairDrop' or 'Snapdrop' and you'll find apps such as PairDrop, PairDrop Global, PairDrop Pro, File Transfer - Snapdrop and Data Transfer - Snapdrop. None is published by Snapdrop's creator, PairDrop's developer or LimeWire, and a ShareDrop search turns up more apps using that name. The one called PairDrop sells weekly and lifetime plans and offers cloud backup, which the real PairDrop doesn't do.
• No official iPhone app. Neither project publishes one. PairDrop's FAQ says to open pairdrop.net in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
• Websites. Other sites use the Snapdrop name. Some say who runs them: snap-drop.net, for one, says it's run by an independent developer as a fork of Snapdrop and PairDrop, paid for partly by sponsors and ads. Snapdrop's own FAQ warns that it can't verify the code unofficial instances run.

How to check any file-transfer site in 30 seconds

1. Find out where the file goes. 'Upload', 'stored' or a link that still works after you close the tab means a copy sits on someone's server. Peer-to-peer, with both devices online, means it doesn't.
2. Find out who runs it. Look for an about page, a GitHub repository or a company name. No name anywhere is a warning sign.
3. Look for a privacy policy and terms on the same domain.
4. Check where the link points. A share link on another company's domain means that company holds your file.
5. Match the app to the project. A real project links its app from its own site or GitHub. A matching name in a store search proves nothing.
6. Take ad-blocker warnings seriously. uBlock Origin's badware list says each entry has to be 'well enough sourced'. A warning isn't proof of harm, but read why before you click Proceed.
7. Accept files only from people you know, whatever the tool. No transfer service can vouch for what's inside a file.

How Beamaroo handles the same risks

We make Beamaroo, so here's exactly what it does about each risk above, and what it doesn't.

• Where your file goes: straight between the two devices over a WebRTC connection encrypted with DTLS. Never uploaded, never stored. If a network blocks a direct path, Cloudflare's TURN relay forwards encrypted bytes it can't read and keeps nothing.
• Who can connect: a one-time code like beam-7-otter-quartz, single-use and valid for 30 minutes. Once connected, both devices prove they know the code words over that encrypted connection. A wrong code, a stranger guessing or a misrouted connection fails, and the code is burnt. There's nothing to compare by hand.
• What our server sees: a channel number and connection setup data. Never your files, their names or the code words.
• What arrives: the receiver sees the file count and total size and taps Accept first. Each file is then hash-checked, and you get a receipt saying it was delivered and verified on their device.
• Who runs it: Beamaroo, built in Brisbane, with a privacy policy and terms on this domain.
• What it isn't: a way to hide your IP address (the two devices see each other's, as with any WebRTC tool), open source, or a way to check what's inside a file. How Beamaroo works has the detail.