XKCD 949 from September, 2011 still rings true 15 years later.
In my case, I want to share photos and videos with my friends, family, and strangers at full resolution.
This post is brought to you by my discovery that Apple shared photo galleries are not full resolution
| Platform | Pros | Cons | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple AirDrop | 1. Full resolution files
2. Works with strangers 3. Can transfer large files (multiple GBs!) quickly |
1. Everyone needs an iPhone (almost)
2. Sometimes fails without explanation |
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Use this to get pictures from strangers! |
| Apple iMessage | 1. Easy
2. Works with strangers 3. Acceptable resolution |
1. Usually not full resolution
2. Have to give a stranger your phone number 3. Don’t have everything in the same place |
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Use with strangers when AirDrop fails |
| Google Drive | 1. Full resolution files
2. Folders can be set to public upload 3. Video player works well 4. Videos can be saved to iPhones via “Send a copy” |
Uploaders own the files they upload regardless of who owns the folder and it counts against their Google storage limit (unless they go through the non-intuitive process of changing ownership)
When the uploader invariably deletes their files to free up space in their Google account you will no longer have access to them |
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Okay for recieving files BUT do not trust that files uploaded by other people will stay around forever |
| Dropbox | 1. Full resolution
2. More savvy users like it |
Storage is limited so uploaders delete things to save space | đ
Okay for recieving files BUT do not trust that files uploaded by other people will stay around forever |
| Slack DMs | Simple | 1. Full resolution
2. Available on desktop and mobile 3. Limited to 1GB per file 4. Hard to download lots of files |
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Okay for recieving files |
| SMS | Simple | Files are heavily compressed | âšī¸
Prefer anything else |
| Instagram messages | Simple | Files are heavily compressed | âšī¸
Prefer anything else |
| Apple Photos Shared Gallery | Easy, simple, integrated! | 1. Everyone needs an iPhone
2. Videos resized to 720p, photos to 2048px (src) 3. Hard to download everything 4. Doesn’t work for strangers |
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Easy for groups to quickly share photos but try and get higher quality copies some other way |
| Simple, wide usage. People who use it tend to be very familiar with it | 1. SD & HD options but both are compressed.
2. Hard to download lots of files 3. Have to share your phone number |
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Try other options first |
|
| TikTok messages | Simple | 1. Not accessible on desktop
2. No way to download videos except screen recording |
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Avoid |