By 
In recent weeks, a wave of concern has swept through the creative and tech communities following reports that WeTransfer, the popular file-sharing service, updated its Terms of Service (ToS) to claim ownership of all files uploaded to its platform.
Social media posts on X and LinkedIn amplified this alarm, questioning the platform’s privacy and ownership policies.
But is WeTransfer really claiming ownership of your files?
Controversy over updated ToS
The controversy began around July 2025 when users noticed changes to WeTransfer’s ToS, effective August 8, 2025.
The original wording in Clause 6.3, as archived by the Wayback Machine, stated that users grant WeTransfer, for each of their uploaded document, a:
“perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable license”
This term sparked fears that WeTransfer could use user files to train AI models or claim ownership, especially among independent artists and those under NDAs who rely on the platform to share large files like videos, music, or designs.
However, WeTransfer quickly responded to the backlash. On July 15, 2025, the company clarified that it does not use user files to train AI models or sell content to third parties.
Does WeTransfer own your files?
So, does WeTransfer own your files? No. The company has consistently stated that users retain full ownership of their content.
Your content is always your content. This is specified in section 6.2. Ownership of Content of our Terms of Service. – WeTransfer
The license granted is standard for cloud-based services to function—files are temporarily stored, encrypted (TLS in transit, AES-256 at rest), and deleted after a set period (7 days for free users, up to a year for paid plans with recovery options).
The initial ToS wording was poorly phrased, leading to misinterpretations, but the updated terms and WeTransfer’s public statements clarify that ownership remains with the user.
This incident highlights a broader issue: trust in tech platforms. As seen with similar clarifications from Dropbox in 2023, users are increasingly wary of vague ToS language, especially regarding AI.
For highly sensitive data and information sharing, users might also consider alternatives such as a managed private file cloud or even run self-hosted solutions such as OwnCloud, NextCloud or Seafile.
