SendGB vs HexaTransfer: Privacy and Speed Compared
Head-to-head comparison of SendGB and HexaTransfer focusing on privacy features, transfer speed, encryption, and overall user experience.
SendGB and HexaTransfer both target the no-account, link-based file-transfer use case, but they diverge sharply on privacy and ceiling. SendGB offers up to 5 GB free with retention options from 24 hours to 90 days and transport-layer encryption only — the server can read your files. HexaTransfer offers 10 GB free with client-side AES-256-GCM end-to-end encryption, meaning the server stores only ciphertext. Both are ad-light compared to WeTransfer. For casual sends, SendGB's flexible retention and Turkish-headquartered infrastructure are fine. For private data, HexaTransfer's E2EE model is structurally safer.
What Each Service Actually Offers
SendGB, headquartered in Istanbul, provides 5 GB free per transfer with selectable retention from 24 hours up to 90 days. It emphasizes flexible expiration and offers optional password protection, return receipts (email notification on download), and a premium tier with larger limits. Encryption is TLS 1.3 in transit and AES-256 at rest with SendGB-managed keys.
HexaTransfer, EU-based, offers 10 GB free per transfer with 7-day retention, client-side AES-256-GCM encryption via the WebCrypto API, and URL-fragment key delivery so the server never holds decryption material. No account, no ads, no third-party trackers on the transfer or download pages.
The Trust Model Gap
SendGB's architecture puts SendGB in a position to read your files if they choose to or are compelled to. The AES-256 at-rest encryption they advertise is provider-managed — the keys live on their infrastructure, which is standard for the category but explicitly not end-to-end. Transport and at-rest encryption together protect against external network attackers and physical disk theft. They don't protect against SendGB itself, a compromised admin credential, or legal process served on the company.
HexaTransfer's client-side model means encryption happens before the file leaves your browser. The symmetric key (AES-256-GCM) never touches the origin. Even with root access to HexaTransfer's servers, an operator would see only opaque ciphertext. For files covered by GDPR Article 32, HIPAA 45 CFR 164.312, or PCI DSS 4.0 Requirement 3.5.1, this is the regulatory-relevant distinction.
Speed and CDN Footprint
Both services deliver adequate speed for typical uploads. SendGB's infrastructure is concentrated around Turkey and Europe, with reasonable transatlantic performance. HexaTransfer runs on EU infrastructure optimized for European latency. On a 100 Mbps fiber connection, a 2 GB upload on either service completes in roughly 3-4 minutes — the bottleneck is upstream bandwidth, not server capacity.
Client-side encryption on HexaTransfer adds a small CPU cost: roughly 5-15 seconds of encryption overhead per GB on modern hardware (M2/M3 Mac, recent Intel or Ryzen laptops). On older devices or phones, it's proportionally slower. SendGB has no equivalent cost because encryption happens server-side after upload. For a 5 GB file on a 2019-era laptop, the user-perceived difference is often under 30 seconds.
Comparison Summary
| Feature | SendGB Free | SendGB Pro | HexaTransfer | |---|---|---|---| | Max file size | 5 GB | 20 GB+ | 10 GB | | E2EE | No | No | Yes | | Account required | No | Yes | No | | Password protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Retention | 24h–90 days | Custom | 7 days | | Return receipts | Yes | Yes | No | | Ads on pages | Light | None | None | | Price | Free | ~$6/month | Free | | Jurisdiction | Turkey | Turkey | EU |
Retention Flexibility: SendGB's Real Advantage
SendGB lets senders choose retention from as short as 24 hours up to 90 days on the free tier. That's genuinely useful for two scenarios: very short-lived sensitive sends where you want the file gone within a day, and longer-lived reference deliveries where the recipient might not retrieve immediately (lawyers on vacation, clients in different time zones). HexaTransfer's fixed 7-day window is simpler but less flexible.
For a compliance officer who wants "delete after 1 day" as a policy, SendGB maps cleanly. For a lawyer who needs "available for 30 days while the case progresses," SendGB covers it free where HexaTransfer would require re-uploading.
The Return-Receipt Trade-off
SendGB's optional email notification when the recipient downloads is a genuine convenience — you know when the file was retrieved. It's also metadata collection: to notify you, SendGB must link your email to the recipient's download event, timestamp the retrieval, and hold that record.
HexaTransfer doesn't offer receipts, which means less metadata is generated. For a sales rep who needs delivery confirmation, SendGB's receipts are helpful. For a source delivering documents to a journalist where "this person downloaded at this time" is sensitive, the absence of receipts is a feature.
Privacy Policy Differences
SendGB's privacy policy describes data retention "for service improvement and legal compliance" without specifying retention periods for metadata. It uses standard analytics cookies and discloses cooperation with law-enforcement requests per Turkish law. Turkey's data-protection regime (KVKK, Law 6698) has some GDPR-like provisions but operates under different enforcement norms.
HexaTransfer operates under EU jurisdiction with GDPR as the governing framework. Minimal data collection (no user accounts, no email requirement for basic sends) produces a smaller Article 30 record and simpler Article 33 breach-notification paths. For EU residents especially, the jurisdictional posture is cleaner.
Picking Between Them
Use SendGB when you need flexible retention outside a 7-day window, when return receipts are valuable, or when 5 GB is adequate and you prefer Turkish/European hosting. Use HexaTransfer when end-to-end encryption is required, when 10 GB free ceiling helps, or when zero-metadata posture is part of your threat model.
The two services aren't mutually exclusive — you can use SendGB for a long-retention non-sensitive send and HexaTransfer for private material the same afternoon. For the privacy-first default, try it at hexatransfer.com — free, no account, 10 GB max.
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