Are Pandafile download links secure?
Yes. Every link is served over HTTPS, contains a long random ID that is practically impossible to guess, and stops working when the transfer expires. The weak spot is sharing: anyone who gets the link can use it, unless you add a Pro password.
A Pandafile link looks something like pandafile.co/d/ followed by a jumble of letters and numbers. That jumble does a lot of the security work.
Three layers of protection
- Encrypted connection. Links always use HTTPS, so the files and the link itself are encrypted while travelling between the browser and our servers.
- Long random IDs. The ID in each link is generated randomly and is long enough that guessing it, or counting through possible links, is not realistic.
- Automatic expiry. Free transfers are deleted after 3 days and Pro transfers after 30 days. After that the link simply shows that the transfer has expired.
The part that is up to you
A link is like a key. Anyone who has it can open the transfer until it expires. That is what makes sharing easy, but it also means a link pasted into a public chat or forwarded to the wrong person can be opened by them.
- Share links only with the people who need the files.
- Use Send by email when you want a personal link per recipient and a notification when each one downloads.
- On Pro, add a password and send it through a different channel than the link.
- Delete the transfer from your Account page as soon as it has done its job.
What links do not do
To be honest about the limits: links are not end-to-end encrypted, and we do not scan files for viruses. Recipients should only open files from senders they trust. If a download page looks like it contains something harmful or illegal, use the Report link on that page.
