User Manual

Veritarc Files

Send a file to any device in seconds — peer-to-peer, straight from the browser. No account, no install, no extension. A live share streams directly between the two browsers; the optional offline drop is end-to-end encrypted, so we can’t read it.

How to access the application

The sender gives you a short retrieval code like ABC23XY, or a link that looks like https://files.veritarc.com/f/ABC23XY — open it and the code is filled in for you. An offline drop instead arrives as a pickup link like https://files.veritarc.com/d/…#k=…; open the whole link, including the part after the #.

1 · Quick start

Veritarc Files moves files directly between two browsers, with nothing to sign up for and nothing to install. There are exactly two ways to send.

Live share — the recipient is online now
  1. Open files.veritarc.com/share, choose your files (or a whole folder), and click Start sharing.
  2. You get a short retrieval code (for example ABC23XY) and a link. Send either one to the recipient.
  3. They open files.veritarc.com/retrieve, type the code (or just open your link), and the files stream straight to their device.
  4. Keep your tab open until the transfer finishes — a live share streams live from your browser.
Send for later — the recipient is offline
  1. On the Share page, open Recipient offline? Send for later pickup and enter an unlock code.
  2. Your files are encrypted in your browser and uploaded as ciphertext. You get a pickup link to send.
  3. The recipient opens that link any time in the next 24 hours, downloads the files, then clicks Remove from server.
Not sure which to use? Start with a live share — it is instant and never touches a server. If a direct connection won’t form (some strict office or mobile networks), fall back to Send for later, which needs an unlock code.

Both sending and receiving work on phones, tablets and computers. Choosing a whole folder to send works best from a desktop browser.

2 · Sharing live with a retrieval code

On the Share page, drag files onto the drop zone or use Choose files / Choose folder. Staged files appear in a list where you can remove any before you start, with a running count and total size. When you are ready, click Start sharing.

The retrieval code and link

As soon as you start, a retrieval code and a share link (/f/CODE) appear, each with its own Copy button — send whichever is easier. A Recipients panel shows who has connected (a coloured dot marks connecting, connected or dropped), and a Files panel shows each transfer’s progress.

A live share streams from your open tab, so keep the page open until the transfer finishes. If you try to close it mid-transfer, the browser warns you first. Veritarc Files tells you when every file has been delivered and it is safe to close.

Adding more files, or more recipients

You can keep adding files after you have started — anyone already connected is offered the new ones automatically. Several people can retrieve from the same code at once, and each of them accepts each file to save it.

Sending a folder

Use Choose folder to send a whole directory tree. What the recipient ends up with depends on their browser:

When a direct connection can’t form

Most transfers connect the two browsers directly. On some strict firewalls and mobile networks a direct link cannot be established, and the free tier has no relay fallback. If the recipient’s page reports that it can’t reach you, use Send for later (see Send for later) instead — that path doesn’t need a live connection.

3 · Retrieving files

A sender might give you one of two things, and each opens the same way.

A retrieval code (live share)

Open files.veritarc.com/retrieve, type the retrieval code (for example ABC23XY) and click Retrieve. If the sender gave you a /f/CODE link, just open it — the code is filled in and you connect automatically. The sender’s files are offered as the connection forms, and each one saves to your device.

The sender must keep their Share tab open for a live retrieval, because the files stream from their browser. If nothing arrives, ask them to keep the page open, or to use Send for later instead.

A pickup link (offline drop)

A drop arrives as a link that starts with /d/ and has a key after a #, for example https://files.veritarc.com/d/…#k=…. Open the whole link, including everything after the # — that part is the decryption key and is required to open the files. If the link is missing its #k=… tail, the page tells you it can’t decrypt, and you should ask the sender to resend the full link.

The drop page shows how many files there are and how large, then a Download button. Files are decrypted in your browser as they arrive. See Send for later for what happens next — one-time pickup and removing the drop.

4 · Send for later — encrypted offline drops

When the recipient isn’t online — or a live connection won’t form on a restrictive network — Send for later holds an encrypted copy on the server until they pick it up. On the Share page, open Recipient offline? Send for later pickup.

What is an unlock code?

An unlock code is what enables the Send-for-later feature. A live share is always free; the offline drop uses server storage, so it is gated behind a code you enter in the Unlock code box (8 characters). Codes are single-use — one code, one drop. If a live share won’t connect on a strict or mobile network, this offline drop is the fallback, and it is the reason you would want a code.

Buying unlock codes inside the app isn’t wired up yet. If you already have a code, enter it to send a drop; if you don’t, use a live share for now.

How a drop works

  1. You choose your files and enter an unlock code, then click Send for later.
  2. Your browser encrypts everything (AES-GCM) — the file contents and their names, paths and sizes — and uploads only the ciphertext.
  3. You get a pickup link like /d/<id>#k=<key>. Send the whole link to the recipient.

Zero-knowledge by design

The decryption key lives only in the part of the link after the #, which browsers never send to a server. So the server stores ciphertext it cannot read — it never sees your file names or their contents. Only someone holding the full pickup link can decrypt the drop.

24-hour hold, one-time pickup

A drop is held for 24 hours, or until it is picked up — whichever comes first. Pickup is a deliberate, one-time step:

A blocked or partial download does not auto-delete the drop, so a mis-click never loses your files — the drop stays until the recipient explicitly removes it or it expires. After removal, the spent key is stripped from the address bar so it can’t linger in your history.

5 · Privacy & what the server can see

Veritarc Files is built so the files you send are seen only by the person you send them to. What the server can see depends on which of the two paths you use.

Live share: the bytes never touch the server

A live share connects the two browsers directly over WebRTC, the same encrypted technology browsers use for video calls. The server does one job: it helps the two browsers find each other and swap the technical details they need to connect (this is called signaling), then steps out of the way. Your file bytes never pass through it, and the encryption keys are created directly between the two browsers — never sent to the server, never stored.

Offline drop: ciphertext only

A Send-for-later drop is encrypted in your browser before upload, so the server holds only ciphertext. It never sees file names, paths, sizes or contents, and it never holds the key — that rides in the # fragment of the pickup link, which browsers don’t transmit. The drop is deleted on pickup, or after 24 hours.

Nothing to sign up for

6 · Troubleshooting & FAQ

The recipient’s page won’t connect

A direct browser-to-browser link can’t always be formed on strict firewalls or some mobile networks, and the free tier has no relay fallback. First make sure the sender’s Share tab is still open. If it still won’t connect, use Send for later instead (it needs an unlock code) or try a different network. See When a direct connection can’t form.

Sending a folder floods the Downloads folder

Only Chromium browsers can rebuild a folder tree on disk. On Safari and Firefox each file downloads individually, with the folder path folded into its name, and the recipient confirms once before the batch starts. For a tidy folder, have the recipient open the retrieval in a Chromium browser (Chrome, Edge, Brave). See Sending a folder.

A pickup link says it can’t decrypt

The link was probably copied without the part after the #, which carries the decryption key. Ask the sender to resend the entire link. See A pickup link.

The drop has expired or was already picked up

Drops last 24 hours and can be removed after a successful pickup, so an old or already-removed link no longer works. Ask the sender to create a new drop. Note that downloading does not remove a drop by itself — the recipient does, or the 24-hour timer.

My unlock code isn’t accepted

Codes are 8 characters and single-use, so a rejected code may already have been used. Buying codes in-app isn’t available yet. See What is an unlock code?

How do I know I have the latest version?

The small version stamp in the page footer (and beside the brand name in the header) is the reliable indicator. If a new version is available, the app offers a reload; when something behaves oddly, reloading often picks up the newest build.

7 · Themes

Open the waffle menu (the grid of dots in the top corner of the home page) and choose Appearance to pick a colour theme. Your choice is remembered in this browser and applied before the page paints, so there is no flash of the wrong colour — and it carries across the Share and Retrieve pages too.

The theme picker lives on the home page. Pick your look there and it follows you through sharing and retrieving.