Auto-Deleting Files & Full Feature Parity: Privacy by Design at SecureEU
SecureEU Team
Privacy & Security
Most file-sharing services keep your files indefinitely — or at least until you manually delete them (and even then, backups may linger for months). At SecureEU, every file is automatically and permanently destroyed when its link expires. You choose the expiry: 1, 3, 7, 14, or 30 days. This isn't a limitation — it's a deliberate privacy feature.
The Problem with Persistent Storage
When a file exists on a server, it's a liability. Every day it sits there is another day it could be:
- •Targeted by a data breach
- •Subject to a legal subpoena or government data request
- •Accidentally exposed through misconfiguration
- •Included in backup snapshots that persist for years
The simplest way to protect data is to not have it. Once a file is deleted, it can't be breached, subpoenaed, or leaked.
How SecureEU's Auto-Delete Works
Every transfer has a user-chosen expiry (1–30 days). A background worker runs every hour, scanning for expired transfers. When a transfer's link expires:
- The encrypted file blob is deleted from Hetzner Object Storage
- All metadata (file name, size, batch ID) is purged from the database
- The download link stops working — permanently
There is no "undo", no recycle bin, no backup we could restore from. Deletion is final and irreversible.
Your Choice of Expiry
Unlike services that impose a single fixed retention window, SecureEU lets you decide exactly how long your link stays active. Free transfers (up to 5 GB) support expiry of 1, 3, or 7 days. Paid transfers additionally unlock 14 and 30 days. Once the chosen period elapses, the file is gone — permanently.
No Backups, By Design
Many services claim to "delete" your data but keep backup copies for disaster recovery. We don't. Our storage is configured without cross-region replication or archival backups. When a file is deleted, the bytes are gone. This is a conscious trade-off: we prioritise your privacy over our operational convenience.
Ephemeral by Nature
SecureEU is designed for file transfers, not file storage. You send a file, the recipient downloads it, and after your chosen expiry window it vanishes. This aligns with the principle of data minimisation — one of GDPR's core requirements — and it means our attack surface shrinks every hour. Even in the worst-case scenario of a full infrastructure compromise, an attacker would find only encrypted files with no keys in sight.
Free Tier: Every Pro Feature Included
We believe privacy tools should be accessible to everyone. That's why the free tier on SecureEU (up to 5 GB) includes every single feature available on paid plans. The only difference? Free links max out at 7 days. Everything else — password protection, branding, email delivery, download notifications, QR codes, link revocation — is yours at no cost.
| Feature | Free (0–5 GB) | Paid (5–50 GB) |
|---|---|---|
| End-to-end encryption (AES-256-GCM) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Password protection (SHA-256) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email delivery (up to 20 recipients) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Download notification email | ✓ | ✓ |
| QR code for download link | ✓ | ✓ |
| Link revocation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Download counter / max downloads | ✓ | ✓ |
| Brand logo & colour | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sender message | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-file batch transfers | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom expiry (1, 3, 7 days) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Extended expiry (14, 30 days) | — | ✓ |
| File size | Up to 5 GB | Up to 50 GB |
| Price | FREE | From €4.99 |
The Safest File Is the One That Doesn't Exist
We believe the best approach to data security is simple: keep as little data as possible, for as short a time as possible, and encrypt everything you do keep with keys you don't hold. Auto-deletion is the final piece of that puzzle — and with configurable expiry, you're in full control of when that deletion happens.