One of the founders of WeTransfer — a popular free file-sharing service used by millions of people around the world — is publicly criticizing the company's new direction. Dutch entrepreneur Naldenwho co-founded the platform in 2009, says he is deeply dissatisfied with changes made since the service was acquired by Bending Spoons — a Milan-based tech company known for buying and restructuring popular apps — last year.
“Bending Spoons doesn't really care about people. While I understand this is their private equity strategy, I note that since I left (WeTransfer) in 2019, there have been a number of updates that I think have basically killed the product,” he told TechCrunch.
After the acquisition, WeTransfer made unclear changes to the operation of transfer links and laid off 75% of its staff. This year, the company caused controversy for using its users' content to train artificial intelligence models, and it had to do so withdraw from changes in its conditions.
Shortly thereafter, Nalden says developers began contacting WeTransfer to share their frustration. He realized he wanted to build an alternative to WeTransfer that would recreate the service's original ethos of simplicity. The service is called Boomerang and users can upload files without having to log in.
“Why do tech companies always make things so complicated? I've always struggled with this and I just wanted to offer a different tool that (completely focuses on) user experience and ease of use. It's about the simplicity of sharing something quickly that just saves you time. You don't have to sign up, you don't have to verify via email,” Nalden told TechCrunch about the service.
For regular users, the no-login experience should be sufficient, although it has its limitations. 1 GB total storage space and a 1 GB file size limit with a seven-day expiration date. Creating a free account increases this to 3GB of total storage space and a 3GB file size limit. You'll also get upload history, the ability to add and remove files at any time, and custom emoticons on file sharing sites.
If you want even more, the €6.99 per month tier offers 200GB per folder and 500GB of total storage with a 5GB file size limit, as well as custom folder covers, password protection, file expiration of up to 90 days, and unlimited user invites per folder.
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Nalden says it will not offer advertising or collect unnecessary user data. He believes that advertising adds complexity, so in the case of Boomerang he wants to collect as little information as possible.
“I just want to offer users a tool that will work. It's like buying a hammer. Maybe you don't want to buy a fancy hammer, but a hammer that just works,” he noted.
Boomerang's interface is intentionally simple, which Nalden says is a refreshing change from a design that was intended to impress investors. While many companies are adding more and more AI features, Nalden said it uses AI to create the product but will not add AI to features available to the user.
Boomerang is available online, with a dedicated Mac app coming soon.
