Space-Bin is a temporary, end-to-end encrypted file-sharing workspace designed for seamless sharing across devices. A space can be created, shared, and accessed instantly from virtually any device, making file transfer simple and frictionless.
Space-Bin is built to make file sharing feel native to the platform you are using. On desktop, it supports familiar interactions such as drag-and-drop uploads, folder-based organization, and other desktop-oriented workflows, providing an experience that feels integrated rather than browser-bound.
So let me tell you why I made this web-app. It is for a very simple reason. In my college, during practical sessions, after these sessions got over, students were often required to send their files from the computer, so many students either used Gmail by logging into a Google account or used WhatsApp to send their files. It is good enough, but the problem that occurred the most was when they forget to log out, and this is a big issue. For Gmail, you get access to the full Google account. For WhatsApp, you get access to the full contacts of the person. So, I thought, why all this risk just for sending files? Hence, the idea of Space-Bin was born.
So, it was made for that reason, but the interface turned out to be so intuitive and easy that anyone can use it with ease.
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@abhinav_prakashan That's a cleaner position than ours. We monetize elsewhere, so there's always someone asking why we can't just add one email field, and I keep saying no to it. Easier when you don't have that pressure at all.
like the origin story, that's a real problem with the Gmail/WhatsApp workaround. the thing I'd want to understand before recommending it though is the flip side of no-accounts: with zero identity tied to any space, what stops it from becoming the easiest anonymous drop for content nobody wants traced back to them, not just students sharing lecture files. is there any reporting/abuse flow, or a size or rate limit that makes it impractical for that, or is it genuinely just "trust that most people using it have nothing to hide"
@galdayan Our storage is limited at 150 mb per space, again for students and normal file sharing it's enough, and it would discourage any other "unintended use".
Furthermore we have set a limit, where a user can only create a certain amount of new space at a particular time span, so that prevents abusing of the resources.
@abhinav_prakashan those two limits make sense for stopping someone from using a space as bulk storage, but they're aimed at volume, not content - a single 150mb space created once is still enough for one bad file. if someone stumbles on a space with content they shouldn't, is there a way to actually report it before it expires, or does the short lifespan just mean it's usually gone before anyone could act on it anyway
@galdayan The max time for a space we have is 14 days, but you are correct, I have no implementation of reporting currently because the spaces are mostly so short-lived, but nevertheless I should look into more of how I can implement the reporting feature as it could be important for longer durations.
Thank you for the suggestion, it really made me think about this issue. Thank you for improving the product.
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honestly this looks super useful, one thing that would help a lot is being able to set a custom expiry timer instead of just one default duration, like give us options for 1 hour, 24 hours, or a week depending on the use case
@ir3ne Security is important, but at the same time I needed to make sure that it doesn't affect the experience, because the average person won't care about what encryption means, they just want to share their files, so we want to get out of the way, and make the secure stuff work silently, no need to overburden the user with technical terms. Also ensuring every action was able to be done with as few clicks possibly goes a long way for the simplicity.
The technical challenge we faced was the storage, the file upload size (not the storage space) was limited, but when we transferred to AWS S3 it was solved.
The most annoying issue I remember which I almost gave up on was the drag and drop behaviour in desktop view. It looks simple but it was so buggy, folders used to randomly disappear, but eventually it was fixed and I am really happy with it because it's really snappy and reliable now.
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@abhinav_prakashan Thanks for sharing the story behind it! I really like your point about making security work silently instead of asking users to understand it—that's often the best UX.
And I can definitely relate to the drag-and-drop struggle 😄 Those interactions always look much simpler than they are. Congrats again on the launch!
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No sign-up is the part I'd defend hardest when someone eventually pushes you to add accounts.
We went the same way with the free calculators we run, and the thing nobody warns you about is that you lose almost all your analytics. No idea who came back. What you get instead is people using it on the first visit rather than bouncing off a signup wall. Still worth it, but it stings when you want to know if anyone cared.
@supplymo I don't plan to add any sign-ups, adding that will remove the essence of the product, so I accepted this trade-off earlier on.
The audience for this app will only use it whenever they want to send their files, that's it. Other than that they don't care about subscriptions, tiers etc. The world already has plenty of those. Since I am not monetizing this, there is no need for metrics.
@azeemhassni No, I have no plans to monetize it right now.
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Dropped a pdf into a space and shared the link, super smooth. Liked that nothing asks for an account, and the files actually wipe after the timer runs out.
@abhinav_prakashan That's a cleaner position than ours. We monetize elsewhere, so there's always someone asking why we can't just add one email field, and I keep saying no to it. Easier when you don't have that pressure at all.
Good luck with it.
like the origin story, that's a real problem with the Gmail/WhatsApp workaround. the thing I'd want to understand before recommending it though is the flip side of no-accounts: with zero identity tied to any space, what stops it from becoming the easiest anonymous drop for content nobody wants traced back to them, not just students sharing lecture files. is there any reporting/abuse flow, or a size or rate limit that makes it impractical for that, or is it genuinely just "trust that most people using it have nothing to hide"
@galdayan Our storage is limited at 150 mb per space, again for students and normal file sharing it's enough, and it would discourage any other "unintended use".
Furthermore we have set a limit, where a user can only create a certain amount of new space at a particular time span, so that prevents abusing of the resources.
@abhinav_prakashan those two limits make sense for stopping someone from using a space as bulk storage, but they're aimed at volume, not content - a single 150mb space created once is still enough for one bad file. if someone stumbles on a space with content they shouldn't, is there a way to actually report it before it expires, or does the short lifespan just mean it's usually gone before anyone could act on it anyway
@galdayan The max time for a space we have is 14 days, but you are correct, I have no implementation of reporting currently because the spaces are mostly so short-lived, but nevertheless I should look into more of how I can implement the reporting feature as it could be important for longer durations.
Thank you for the suggestion, it really made me think about this issue. Thank you for improving the product.
honestly this looks super useful, one thing that would help a lot is being able to set a custom expiry timer instead of just one default duration, like give us options for 1 hour, 24 hours, or a week depending on the use case
@beryl_graham There is already an option to choose the expiry time:
Nice idea! I really like the "no sign-up required" approach—it removes a lot of friction for quick file sharing.
I'm curious: what was the hardest technical challenge to make temporary workspaces secure while keeping the experience so simple?
@ir3ne Security is important, but at the same time I needed to make sure that it doesn't affect the experience, because the average person won't care about what encryption means, they just want to share their files, so we want to get out of the way, and make the secure stuff work silently, no need to overburden the user with technical terms. Also ensuring every action was able to be done with as few clicks possibly goes a long way for the simplicity.
The technical challenge we faced was the storage, the file upload size (not the storage space) was limited, but when we transferred to AWS S3 it was solved.
The most annoying issue I remember which I almost gave up on was the drag and drop behaviour in desktop view. It looks simple but it was so buggy, folders used to randomly disappear, but eventually it was fixed and I am really happy with it because it's really snappy and reliable now.
@abhinav_prakashan Thanks for sharing the story behind it! I really like your point about making security work silently instead of asking users to understand it—that's often the best UX.
And I can definitely relate to the drag-and-drop struggle 😄 Those interactions always look much simpler than they are. Congrats again on the launch!
No sign-up is the part I'd defend hardest when someone eventually pushes you to add accounts.
We went the same way with the free calculators we run, and the thing nobody warns you about is that you lose almost all your analytics. No idea who came back. What you get instead is people using it on the first visit rather than bouncing off a signup wall. Still worth it, but it stings when you want to know if anyone cared.
How are you thinking about that tradeoff?
@supplymo I don't plan to add any sign-ups, adding that will remove the essence of the product, so I accepted this trade-off earlier on.
The audience for this app will only use it whenever they want to send their files, that's it. Other than that they don't care about subscriptions, tiers etc. The world already has plenty of those. Since I am not monetizing this, there is no need for metrics.
The UX is perfect, but you'll have to add sign-ups one day if you plan to monetize it?
@azeemhassni No, I have no plans to monetize it right now.
Dropped a pdf into a space and shared the link, super smooth. Liked that nothing asks for an account, and the files actually wipe after the timer runs out.
@peregrine_quincy Thank you, for your kind words, glad you liked it.