JustBeamIt (justbeamit.com) was still online when we checked on 31 October 2026, even though AlternativeTo lists it as discontinued. Its pages still describe a simple process: the sender gets a single-use link that expires after 10 minutes, keeps the page open, and the file streams through JustBeamIt's server to the other person. If it keeps failing, or you'd like the file to go device to device with end-to-end encryption, Beamaroo is a free JustBeamIt alternative that works in the browser in the same live way.
The short answer
- Is JustBeamIt down? Not when we checked on 31 October 2026: the site loaded and its transfer server answered. AlternativeTo still lists it as discontinued.
- How it works: a download link that works for one transfer and expires if the download hasn't started within 10 minutes. The sender's page must stay open until it finishes.
- It isn't peer-to-peer. The file streams through JustBeamIt's server, which says it records no file contents. Its site doesn't mention end-to-end encryption.
- Its errors come down to the 10-minute window passing, the link already being used, or the transfer being cut off part-way.
- The alternative: Beamaroo sends files directly between two browsers, end-to-end encrypted, with a 30-minute single-use code and a delivery receipt. Both people still need to be online.
Is JustBeamIt down? What we found
No, as far as we could tell on 31 October 2026. The site at justbeamit.com loaded normally and its transfer server (us.justbeamit.com) responded. That was a check of the site and server, not a test transfer, so we can't promise every transfer goes through.
The confusion is understandable. AlternativeTo lists JustBeamIt as discontinued, with “no updates since 2016”, and JustBeamIt's own help page still calls it “a beta service”. There are small signs of age too. The QR code on its share screen comes from an old Google Charts address that returned a “Not Found” error when we tried it, so don't rely on the QR code. Copy the link instead.
How JustBeamIt works, and what its 10-minute link means
JustBeamIt is a live transfer, like Beamaroo, but the file takes a different route. Here's the process, in its help page's words where it matters:
- The sender drops in one or more files and clicks Create Link. JustBeamIt gives them a unique download link to share. Nothing moves yet: “JustBeamIt does not upload any data until the recipient starts the transfer.”
- The recipient opens the link within 10 minutes and clicks the file icon next to the file name to start. The link is “valid for a single transfer”, so it works once.
- The file streams through JustBeamIt's server to the recipient as the sender's browser sends it. JustBeamIt says “no file contents are recorded on our servers”.
- Both sides watch it finish. The sender sees COMPLETED or FAILED next to each file, and the recipient sees “your download is done :)”. Several files arrive together as one Archive.zip.
The 10 minutes is the window for the download to start, not a cap on how long it can take: its help page says an expired link means “too much time passed before the transfer began”. Once a transfer starts, the sender's page has to stay open until it ends. In JustBeamIt's words: “Do NOT close the page at any point until the transfer is complete.”
Why JustBeamIt transfers fail: the errors decoded
JustBeamIt's messages are short, so here's what each one means, based on its help page, and what to do about it.
| Message | What happened | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “sorry, this download link has expired :(” | More than 10 minutes passed before the download started | Ask the sender to click Create Link again and send the new link straight away |
| “sorry, this download link no longer exists :(” | The link expired, or it was already used for a transfer | Each link works once. Ask for a fresh one |
| “your download failed :(”, or FAILED on the sender's screen | The transfer stopped part-way. Its code tracks causes such as the sender leaving the page, a timeout, or no progress | Keep the sending page open and the device awake, then start again with a new link |
| “your download was interrupted and failed :(” | The download was cancelled or cut off | Start again with a new link, on a steadier connection if you can |
| The transfer never starts | Your browser may not be reaching JustBeamIt's transfer server, which uses port 8443 | Try another network. Some workplace and school networks only allow standard web ports |
To dodge most of these: send the link the moment you create it, keep the sending device awake with the page in front, and don't close or refresh it until both sides show the transfer as finished.
Try Beamaroo right here
Open this page on both devices. Pick files on one, type the code on the other. Nothing to install, nothing uploaded.
Click the code to copy it
Code lasts 30 minutes · keep this screen on until they connect
Scan to receive
Files stay on this device until the other side accepts.
Type the code shown on the sending device.
↑ This is the whole app — no install, no signup
JustBeamIt vs Beamaroo, side by side
They're close cousins: both are free, need no account, run in the browser and need both people online at the same time. The difference is the route your file takes, and what each side can check.
| Feature | JustBeamIt | Beamaroo |
|---|---|---|
| Route | Streams through JustBeamIt's server, which says it records nothing | Goes directly between the two devices. If a network blocks that, an encrypted relay forwards data it can't read |
| Encryption | HTTPS to its server. No end-to-end claim on its site | End-to-end (WebRTC DTLS). The keys exist only on the two devices |
| What you share | A link, valid 10 minutes, for one transfer | A code like beam-7-otter-quartz (or its link or QR), valid 30 minutes, for one receiver |
| Who gets the file | Whoever opens the link and starts the download first | Only a device that proves it knows the code. A wrong guess burns it |
| Before it starts | The recipient sees the file name, or Archive.zip with the files listed | The receiver sees the file count and total size, then taps Accept |
| Several files | Packed into one Archive.zip | Arrive as separate files, with a Save all button |
| Proof of delivery | The sender sees COMPLETED | The receiving device checks every file's hash, and the sender sees “Delivered ✔ — verified on their device” |
| Size limit | None published | No fixed cap. Phones are comfortable to a few hundred MB, computers to about 1–2 GB |
| Both online | Yes. Keep the page open | Yes. Keep both screens on |
| Status | Online on 31 Oct 2026; AlternativeTo lists it as discontinued | Live since July 2026, built in Brisbane |
| Account and cost | None. Free, with a donate link | None. Free today |
How to send a file with Beamaroo instead
Use the tool above, or open beamaroo.com on both devices. It runs in Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox on phones and computers, on the same Wi-Fi or on different networks.
- Add your files and tap Get a code. Several at once is fine. Folders need zipping first, or select the files inside.
- Send the code. Read it out, tap Copy link or Share…, or let them scan the QR. The code lasts 30 minutes and works once.
- The other person taps Receive and enters the code. They see how many files are coming and the total size, and tap Accept.
- Keep both screens on while it transfers. When their device has checked every file, you see “Delivered ✔ — verified on their device”.
Like JustBeamIt, it's live: if either page closes or a phone locks mid-transfer, the transfer stops, and there's no resume. Files are held in the receiving browser's memory before saving, so keep phone transfers to a few hundred MB and computer transfers to about 1–2 GB. How Beamaroo works explains the encryption and the pairing code.
Other JustBeamIt alternatives and sites like it
If you liked JustBeamIt's no-account, open-the-link simplicity, these are the closest matches as of October 2026. The first three are live transfers like JustBeamIt; upload services keep a copy for later.
- FilePizza: open source and genuinely peer-to-peer, and one link can serve several people at once. When we checked, file.pizza had no usable relay, so it needs networks that allow a direct connection.
- ToffeeShare: peer-to-peer from the Netherlands. Files stay available while your tab is open, and there are Android and Windows apps. On 31 October 2026 its relay and fallback servers weren't responding, so it too needs networks that allow a direct connection.
- PairDrop: open source and made for devices on the same network, and it can pair devices across networks too.
- Upload services such as WeTransfer, SwissTransfer and Smash, for when the other person can't be online at the same time. WeTransfer has needed an account to send since November 2024, and its free plan allows 10 transfers or 3 GB in any rolling 30 days. SwissTransfer's free service takes up to 50 GB per transfer and keeps it for up to 30 days. Smash's free plan needs no sign-up and keeps transfers for 7 days. More in our WeTransfer alternative comparison.
- Firefox Send is gone: Mozilla shut it down in 2020. Our Firefox Send alternative page covers what people use now.
When JustBeamIt, or an upload service, suits you better
If JustBeamIt works for you and the files aren't sensitive, there's no urgent reason to switch. It's free, needs no account, and bundles several files into one zip, which can be handier than separate files. The recipient also gets the file as an ordinary browser download, so it doesn't have Beamaroo's in-memory size limits.
If the other person can't be online when you are, neither JustBeamIt nor Beamaroo fits. Use an upload service that holds the file for a few days, and accept that a copy sits on its servers in the meantime.
Beamaroo is the better fit when you'd rather the file went device to device with end-to-end encryption, when only the person you gave the code to should be able to receive it, or when you want proof it arrived intact.
Questions
Is JustBeamIt down?
It wasn't on 31 October 2026: justbeamit.com loaded and its transfer server responded. AlternativeTo lists it as discontinued, but the site is still running. If it won't load for you, try another browser or network.
Why does JustBeamIt say the download link has expired?
Its links only work if the download starts within 10 minutes of the sender clicking Create Link. Ask them to create a new link and send it straight away. “No longer exists” means the link expired or was already used.
Is JustBeamIt safe?
For everyday files it's a reasonable choice. The file streams through its server over HTTPS and JustBeamIt says nothing is recorded, but its site doesn't mention end-to-end encryption, and whoever starts the download first gets the file. For anything sensitive, use a tool that encrypts end to end.
Does JustBeamIt have a file size limit?
JustBeamIt doesn't publish one, and the recipient gets the file as an ordinary browser download rather than holding it in the page's memory. The sending page still has to stay open and connected for the whole transfer, so very large files take patience and a steady connection.
Is JustBeamIt peer-to-peer?
No. Its help page says everything is “streamed from source to destination through our service”, and its code sends files to its own server rather than opening a direct WebRTC connection. Beamaroo connects the two devices directly, using an encrypted relay only when a network blocks that.
Do both people need to be online with Beamaroo too?
Yes. Like JustBeamIt, Beamaroo is a live transfer, so both devices need to be online, with the screens on, until it finishes. For a file someone will download later, use an upload service.
Can I send several files at once?
Yes, with both. JustBeamIt packs several files into one Archive.zip. Beamaroo sends them as separate files, with a Save all button on the receiving side; folders need zipping first.