French startup Infinit has released a Windows application for free file-sharing that uses peer-to-peer technology to improve transmission speeds.
The release of the Windows client on Thursday comes after the company’s launch of a Mac version in 2013. The two clients offer the same performance.
Infinit’s peer-to-peer technology, which does not require users to wait for files and folders to upload to the cloud before sharing them, makes the process of sharing all types of content between two people faster and easier than using services from the likes of Dropbox.
Transfers are between five and 30 times faster than cloud-based solutions, and there is no limitation on the file sizes, Baptiste Fradin, co-founder and chief operating officer at Infinit, said in an interview last year when the company was still beta testing the Windows version.
Transfers are especially fast when a file is sent between users on the same local network. A 2GB file can be transferred between two users in the same Wi-Fi network in about 10 minutes. The more bandwidth users have, the faster the transfers will be.
Privacy is improved because there are no central servers and the files are encrypted end to end.
While the app is used by a wide range of people, the startup’s growth has largely been fueled by graphic designers, filmmakers and sound producers, Infinit said. The company doesn’t want to reveal how many users it has; it says only that the Mac and Windows apps both have tens of thousands users.