Groups
Create a group once, and then send to it. Send policy determines how files are shared within the group. Great for families, teams, and events.
What's a Group?
A group is a saved list of devices that all receive the same files together. Create one for your family, your team, or a one-off event, and every send from then on reaches everyone at once.
Share a single join link or QR code. Anyone who opens it requests to join โ no manual setup for each person.
Files sent to a group are encrypted before they leave your device, exactly like a one-to-one transfer.
Group sends always use the cloud, even if everyone happens to be on the same Wi-Fi โ that's what lets everyone receive at once.
Three Ways to Share
When you create a group, you choose how sending works. This is the one decision that shapes everything else about the group, so it's worth picking the right one up front.
Any member can send to the whole group, and everyone can see who else is in it. Best for a family or a close team, where everyone already knows each other.
Only owners can send โ members just receive. Members can't see the rest of the group, only how many people are in it. Best for announcements to a large or public audience.
Members send only to the owners, who curate and pass things back out to everyone. Perfect for a party or trip โ everyone submits photos, and the owner shares the best of them with the group.
Groups are a powerful and flexible way to share files with multiple people at once. You can expect more types of groups to be added in the future.
Creating a Group
Go to Groups in the main menu and tap New Group.
- Give the group a name โ something like "Family" or "Soccer Photos."
- Choose a type: Everyone Can Send, Owners Can Send, or Collect & Distribute.
- Tap Create. You're the group's owner, and the only member so far.
- Add people now with Add Device โ pulled from your Favorites or nearby devices โ or invite them later with a join link.
Inviting People
The fastest way to grow a group is a join link โ no need to add people one at a time.
Sharing the Link
As the owner, open the group and tap Join Link. Filie shows both a link and a QR code โ copy it, share it through any app, or let someone scan it in person. The link stays active for 30 days, and you can revoke it early from Settings if you need to shut it down.
Joining
Opening the link sends a request to join. The owner's device admits it automatically the next time it's online โ no approval tap required on their end โ and then you'll see a normal invite to accept. If the group is full, you'll be told there's no room.
Sending Files
Sending to a group works just like sending to a device.
Pick your files first, then choose the group from the send screen instead of a single device. Filie delivers to every member at once over the cloud โ and it only counts as a single send against your monthly limit, no matter how many people are in the group.
In an Owners Can Send group, only owners see the send option โ members receive but can't send. In a Collect & Distribute group, a member's send only reaches the owners, who can then redistribute it to everyone.
Sending a Message
Sometimes you just need to say something, not send a file.
Owners can send a short text via push notifications to every member โ handy for "photos incoming" or "meeting moved to 3pm." It's secure, but not end-to-end encrypted like the files themselves. It's not a file, so it doesn't show up in transfer history. Each client controls whether they receive push notifications.
Managing Your Group
Owners have full control over the group; members can only send (where allowed) and leave. Groups can have multiple owners.
Owner Controls
- Change the group's name, type, or member limit
- Add or remove members, or promote a member to owner
- Share or revoke the join link
- Send a group message
- Delete the group entirely โ this removes it for everyone, and requires typing the group's name to confirm
Leaving a Group
Any member can leave at any time from the group's detail screen. It disappears from your device right away.
Ready to start a group?
Free to create, free to join. Download Filie on all your devices.