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. My experience is iPhone-centric. Here’s a quick rundown of my findings (as of March, 2026)
If I could impart one important point it’s that you cannot rely on file storage you do not pay for. If someone share something with you, download it!
| 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 but be sure and save everything you want out of it becase it’s hard to find later |
| 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 |
| 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 |
|
| SMS | Simple | Files are heavily compressed | âšī¸
Prefer anything else |
| Instagram messages | Simple | Files are heavily compressed | âšī¸
Prefer anything else |
| TikTok messages | Simple | 1. Videos not viewable on desktop
2. No way to download videos on phone except screen recording |
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Avoid |
| Partiful gallery | Simple, everyone already has access | Images and videos are heavily compressed | â
Avoid |