FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions | PRV5
Find answers to common questions about PRV5 secure file sharing, encryption, and burn-after-reading destruction.
General Questions
What is this service for?
PRV5 (Secure Share Link) is a privacy-focused, temporary file-sharing service. You can upload a file, set a password and self-destruction conditions (based on time or access count), and then share the generated private link with others. When the conditions are met, the file will be permanently and completely deleted from our servers.
How is PRV5 different from cloud storage or file transfer services like Google Drive / Dropbox / WeTransfer?
Those are all great services, but our core philosophy and use cases are completely different. The main differences are:
- Privacy and Anonymity: PRV5 requires no registration; we fundamentally do not want to know who you are. In contrast, most cloud services are deeply tied to your personal accounts (like Google or Apple accounts).
- Deletion by Default: Our core principle is 'temporary sharing.' Files are completely destroyed after meeting the set conditions, leaving no trace. Cloud storage, on the other hand, is designed for 'permanent storage,' where deleting a file usually just moves it to a trash bin that requires manual emptying.
- Security Focus: We design our security process specifically for the single action of 'sharing.' For example, passwords are hashed in your browser first. The focus of cloud services is on cross-device synchronization and collaboration.
In short, if you need a long-term storage and backup solution, choose traditional cloud storage. If you need to securely and anonymously send a confidential file to someone on a one-time basis, PRV5 is the more suitable choice. You can think of it as a more privacy-focused 'secure file courier'.
Is this an alternative to the former Firefox Send by Mozilla?
Yes, you can think of it that way. Like many users, we greatly admired Firefox Send's focus on privacy and ease of use. PRV5 was created to offer an option similar in spirit, giving users who need secure, temporary file sharing a trustworthy alternative after Firefox Send was discontinued. The protection differs, though: Firefox Send end-to-end encrypted every file, while PRV5 parcels are not end-to-end encrypted by default.
In what scenarios would I specifically need to use PRV5?
Any sharing scenario where you don't want to leave a digital footprint is perfect! For example:
- Professionals: A lawyer sending a draft contract to a client, a designer sharing an unreleased design mock-up, or an accountant providing financial statements.
- Developers: Sharing configuration files containing API keys, passwords, or source code.
- Personal Life: Sending scans of personal documents like ID cards or passports to a travel agency or family member; sharing private photos that you don't want permanently stored on any cloud.
- Secure Communication: As a supplement to secure messaging apps, for sending self-destructing text messages or sensitive notes.
What languages are supported?
Our interface currently supports Traditional Chinese, English, and Japanese. You can switch the language at any time via the menu in the upper-right corner of the page.
Security & Privacy
Are my files and password secure?
We implement multiple layers of protection:
- Dual Password Hashing: Your password is hashed with SHA-256 in your browser, then processed with HMAC-SHA256 on our server. We never store your original password and cannot recover it.
- Transport Security: All data transmitted between you and the service is encrypted using HTTPS (TLS) to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
- Storage Security: Your files are stored in a private bucket on Cloudflare R2 and can only be accessed via an authorized, time-limited presigned URL.
I forgot the password for a share link. Can you help me reset or retrieve it?
No, and this is a security feature. We cannot because we never store your original password. The password you set is encrypted on your computer, and we only store the irreversible cryptographic hash. We ourselves do not know what your password is, so we absolutely cannot help you reset or retrieve it. If you forget the password, the only way is to re-upload the file and set a new one.
Once a file is deleted, is it really gone? Can it be recovered?
Yes, once a file is deleted, it is gone permanently and irrecoverably. 'Deletion by default' is a core design principle of this service. As soon as a file reaches its set expiration time or access limit, our system automatically performs two key actions: first, it deletes all metadata records about the file from our database. Second, it issues a delete command to the storage service to permanently remove the file object itself. This process is automated, and once completed, we have no information left to recover the file.
What information do you log about me?
We take your privacy very seriously. We collect limited information only for security and service optimization purposes. This primarily includes:
- Security Logs: To prevent abuse of the service (such as DDoS attacks), Cloudflare logs the IP addresses of visitors to implement rate limiting and human verification (Turnstile).
- Anonymous Analytics: We use Google Analytics to collect anonymous website usage data (e.g., pages visited, browser type) to improve the service experience. We have enabled the IP anonymization feature.
For more details, please see our
Privacy Policy.
Features & Terms of Use
How large can my uploads be? How many files at once?
Guests can upload up to 2 GB per parcel. Signed-in members have no per-parcel limit: you can upload anything that fits in your remaining storage (30 GB on Free, 500 GB on Pro). Each file can be up to 768 GB, and a parcel can hold up to 200 files.
What are the time and access limits for self-destruction?
You choose:
- Time: up to 1 day for guests, 7 days on Free and 14 days on Pro.
- Opens: parcels with archives, documents or notes can be set to 1–10 opens for guests, 1–50 on Free and 1–1000 on Pro (or time-based only). Whichever limit is reached first, the parcel is permanently deleted.
Why are opens limited for archives, documents and notes?
To keep the service from being used to spread malware or pirated files. Parcels with archives, programs, documents or notes follow your plan's open range (default 5 for guests and 20 on Free) and daily open limit (50 on Free, 500 on Pro). Image and video previews are always unlimited. We check both the file type and the extension, so an archive disguised as a video is still treated as a regular file.
What types of files can I upload or share?
In principle, you can upload any type of file. However, you are fully responsible for the content you share. The files you share must be legal in both your country/region and the recipient's, and you must have the right to share them (e.g., you are the copyright owner or have been granted permission). Using this service to share any copyrighted, illegal, or malicious content is strictly prohibited.
Please note that any content shared by users via this service represents their personal actions and views only, and does not represent the position of this service.
Are there any exceptions to the files that are allowed to be shared?
Yes. To prevent abuse, we have a special clause: even if a file itself may be legal, if its hash value (SHA256) has been publicly identified as malware or flagged for violating laws in a specific region, we reserve the right to remove the file from the service at our discretion without notice.
If I find my copyrighted material or defamatory content being shared by others, how can I request its removal?
We respect intellectual property rights and personal reputation. If you are the rights holder and wish to have infringing or defamatory content removed, please send a formal removal notice, accompanied by a certified local court order or a notice compliant with local copyright laws (such as the DMCA), to our contact email address. Upon receipt of valid legal documentation, we will review it and disable access to the relevant files as soon as possible.
How do you handle it if someone uses your service to share illegal or malicious content?
We strictly prohibit users from engaging in any illegal activities using this service. To this end, we have:
- Reporting Mechanism: Any user who finds suspicious or inappropriate shared content can report it to us through the 'Report' feature on the page.
- Rapid Response: Upon receiving a report, our system immediately notifies administrators for manual review. Content confirmed to violate our terms of service will be removed immediately.
- Law Enforcement Cooperation: We will cooperate with legally binding orders from judicial authorities to the extent required by law.
We are committed to finding a balance between protecting user privacy and maintaining platform security.
Project Philosophy & Future Development
Do I need to register for an account?
No. Guests can create parcels right away, with lower limits on size, retention and daily uploads.
- Guests: Share without signing up, which suits occasional transfers.
- Sign in with Google: Manage every share under "My Shares", check your usage, destroy shares early, and get more storage and longer retention.
See
Pricing to compare plans.
How is the service funded? Are there paid plans?
Yes. PRV5 has a free tier, and operating costs are covered by Pro subscriptions and Enterprise plans. The site currently shows no ads.
- Guests and Free members: Use the service at no cost, within the limits on storage and retention.
- Pro: More storage, longer retention and higher access limits.
- Enterprise: Shared storage, a dedicated subdomain with white-label branding, and audit logs. Contact us for details.
See
Pricing for plan details.
Plans and Billing
What's the difference between Free and Pro?
Both have the same password protection and automatic destruction, and unlimited image and video previews. Pro is US$4/month (US$40/year): storage grows from 30 GB to 500 GB, shares last up to 14 days instead of 7, archives and documents can be set to 1–1000 opens or time-based only, and each share can be opened up to 500 times a day.
How do I cancel my subscription?
Go to My shares, click Manage subscription, and cancel on Stripe's subscription page. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current period, and you keep Pro until then.
Can I get a refund?
Fees already charged are not refunded on a prorated basis, except where required by law. See the
Terms of Service. For billing issues, email supports@prv5.com.
What happens to my shares after I return to the Free plan?
Existing shares keep the conditions they were created with (expiry, open count, daily limit) until they expire; nothing is deleted or shortened. If you're using more than the Free plan's 30 GB, your older parcels stay, but you can upload again only after usage drops below the limit.
What is the daily open limit?
For shares with archives, documents or notes, the number of successful opens per day (50 on Free, 500 on Pro), resetting at 00:00 UTC. Image- and video-only shares have no daily limit. Once the limit is reached, other people see a notice until the next day; it doesn't use up the share's open count.
Why isn't the checkout amount in US dollars?
Prices are set in US dollars, but Stripe may show and charge them in your local currency based on your location so you can see exactly what you'll pay. Stripe sets the exchange rate at checkout; the amount on the checkout page and your receipt is what you pay.
How is storage counted, and when is it freed?
Storage is the total size of your active and uploading parcels. Space is freed as soon as a parcel is destroyed, expires or is deleted. If an upload makes no progress for 2 hours, its reserved space is released automatically, without waiting for scheduled cleanup.
How many parcels can guests create per day?
To prevent abuse, guests who aren't signed in can create up to 20 parcels a day per network and 3 per device, counted over a rolling 24 hours. Sign in for a free account to remove this limit.
What is the prv5_did cookie for?
It's a device identifier used only for guests, to count how many parcels one device creates per day. It's signed to prevent tampering, kept for one year, never used for cross-site tracking, and never used for sign-in or any authorization. Clearing it doesn't affect existing shares.
How long are Enterprise audit records kept?
Create, open, download and destroy records for Enterprise parcels are kept for 400 days and then deleted automatically. They never include passwords, file names or IP addresses, only the access region. Organization admins can search and export them as CSV / JSON on the organization page.
End-to-End Encryption Beta
What is an end-to-end encrypted parcel, and who can use it?
When it is on, your files, folder structure, file names, title and note are encrypted in your browser with a key derived from your password. PRV5's servers and storage keep only ciphertext, and the recipient decrypts in the browser after entering the password.
- Available to: signed-in Free and Pro members, from the password panel when sending.
- Not supported yet: guests, member default passwords, file requests and Enterprise parcels.
Neither the link nor the arrival email contains the password. Share it with the recipient yourself, ideally through a different channel from the link.
Does password strength affect encryption strength?
Yes. Password strength is encryption strength. Short or common passwords could be guessed offline if data leaks. We recommend using "Fill random" for a 12-character random password, or setting your own long random one.
What if I forget the password of an end-to-end encrypted parcel?
It cannot be recovered. The server keeps neither the password nor a backup key, so nobody, including PRV5, can retrieve or reset it, and your account page cannot show it. Keep the password safe. If it is lost, the only option is to send the parcel again.
What can the server still see after end-to-end encryption?
- Visible: the number of parcels and files, the encrypted size (almost the same as the original size), upload and open times and counts, the country of each open, the owner account, and the expiry rules.
- Not visible: file names, paths, file types, titles, notes and content.
What does end-to-end encryption protect against, and what does it not?
- Protects against: database or storage leaks, administrators viewing content, hosting providers disclosing stored data under legal process, and a leak of the link alone. In all of these, protection depends on the strength of the password.
- Does not protect against: the link and password leaking together, a compromised sender or recipient device, or a compromise of PRV5 or Cloudflare that serves malicious web code. The last one is a structural limit of web-based encryption, because the password is handled by the code loaded for that visit.
Can decrypted content stay in my browser or on my device?
Yes, it can. Downloaded files are stored on your device. Online preview and some download methods decrypt in browser memory, and when memory runs low, decrypted plaintext can still be paged to temporary files. The Web has no API to prevent this. Open sensitive content on a trusted device and close the tab when you are done.
Are end-to-end encrypted parcels scanned for viruses? How is abuse handled?
The content is encrypted, so PRV5 cannot scan it for viruses or view it. Only open files from senders you trust. The Terms still apply to encrypted content: violations can be reported, we assess them from metadata, the reporter's evidence and account records, and we can take parcels down and suspend accounts.
What limits apply to end-to-end encrypted parcels?
- The server cannot tell what the content is, so images and videos also follow the file access limits and the daily open limit.
- Online preview limits: 512 KiB for text and 256 MiB for other types. SVG and HTML can only be downloaded.
- In-app browsers such as LINE may not be able to download. Open the link in Safari or Chrome instead.
- Downloading a whole parcel as a ZIP is not available yet.