Everyone is all about the cloud these days, from temporary storage, to backup solutions, to ad-hoc sharing of files with others. But what if you needed to share a file that was so huge that not only does it hit the limit of any cloud storage but also makes it time-consuming to first upload the file to the cloud before sharing it with others? That is where BitTorrent Sync comes in.
BitTorrent Sync, as you might have guessed from the name, builds on the popular (or unpopular, if you prefer) peer-to-peer file sharing protocol. In it’s very essence, Sync is like Dropbox, Google Drive, and whatnot that lets you share files with others or sync folders from one device to another aside for one important difference: there is no cloud involved. Without a central server, there is no central authority to dictate the rules. It also means there is no single point of failure or a potential security/privacy exploit waiting to happen. And more importantly, there are no limits to how large the file can be. Your only real limits will be your or your recipient’s disk space and both your bandwidth quotas.
This new version 1.4 of the app introduces some improvements to the flow of sharing, making it easier to hand out links to folders you’d like to share. You can opt to either directly email a link or copy the link to your clipboard so you can paste it wherever you choose. The recipient doesn’t even need to have a Sync account, though he or she will be given instructions on how to proceed. Folders can be read only or you can give others write permissions as well. You have full control of what you share, how you share it, and with whom you share it. The only nitpick we have with the service is that you can only sync whole folders and not individual files. Despite the easy sharing features, Sync isn’t a file sharing service but a decentralized folder syncing one.
BitTorrent Sync is available on all major platforms, whether you are on a PC or Mac running Windows, OS X, or Linux, or on a mobile device. It is even available in several NAS products. The desktop clients have all been updated and mobile apps should be rolling out now. The BitTorrent Sync app is available for free on Google Play Store and, since there is no cloud involved, the service is also free.
SOURCE: BitTorrent
