Send large videos from Android
Any phone, any recipient. Share it as a link.
Launching soon
Free when it launches: 5 GB per transfer, 10 transfers or 20 GB a month, and links that last 14 days.
To send a large video from an Android phone, don't text or attach it: send a link to it instead. SendTheStuff will make that link from your phone in a few taps, at full quality, up to 5 GB free. The link will open on any phone, iPhones included.
SendTheStuff is launching soon. Until then, Quick Share works when the other phone is in the room, and a Google Drive link works for everyone else.
What SendTheStuff will do with a video on your Android phone
SendTheStuff will work in Chrome on your phone, with no app to install. You'll pick the video from your gallery or Google Photos, and the original file will go up untouched. Nothing along the way will squeeze it the way MMS does.
- Room for long recordings. SendTheStuff will send up to 5 GB per transfer for free. That's far past Gmail's 25 MB attachment limit.
- Several videos in one go. SendTheStuff will take up to 1,000 files in one transfer, within that size.
- Your share menu, not a new app. When the upload finishes, SendTheStuff will give you the link with Copy, Email, Messages and Share buttons. Share will open Android's own share menu, so the link can go into Messages, WhatsApp, Discord or anything you have installed.
- Built for a phone that wanders off. SendTheStuff will show "Keep this page open until it finishes." while the video goes up, since Android can pause a Chrome tab that isn't on screen. If your signal drops, it will carry on once you're back online.
- A second chance after a closed tab. SendTheStuff will let you pick the same video again within 3 days and continue from where it stopped.
Whoever gets it will tap the link and download the video in their browser, on a Pixel, a Galaxy, an iPhone or a laptop. On an iPhone, SendTheStuff will add the line "To save it to Photos: open the file, tap Share, then Save Video." after the download. SendTheStuff's link will work for 14 days, then the video will be deleted, because it's for sending, not storing.
The free plan will allow 10 transfers or 20 GB a month, whichever comes first.
Why Android videos arrive blurry, or don't arrive
Most of the ways to send a video from Android shrink it or cap it somewhere along the way:
- Google Messages sends video one of two ways. Over MMS, Google says carriers compress MMS messages, which is why texted clips look smeared. Over RCS chat, you can pick HD ("optimized for chat": faster, less data) or HD+ (original quality). If either side can't use RCS, the chat falls back to MMS.
- Gmail stops attachments at 25 MB for a personal account, then swaps the video for a Google Drive link that uses your Google storage.
- WhatsApp takes files up to 2 GB when you send them as a document, but the person has to be on WhatsApp too.
Quick Share, Messages, Gmail or a link
| Way to send | Works well when | Falls short when |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Share | The other device is one of your nearby devices, in the same room | They're anywhere else |
| Google Messages in HD+ | You're both on RCS chat | Either of you drops to MMS, or it's a group with mixed phones |
| Gmail attachment | The video is under 25 MB | Almost any video longer than a short clip |
| A Google Drive link | Any phone, any distance | It eats into your Google storage, shared across Drive, Photos, and Gmail, until you delete it |
| SendTheStuff, launching soon | Any phone, any distance, full quality. Up to 5 GB per transfer will be free | After 14 days, its link will expire, so it won't be for keeping |
Quick Share (which used to be called Nearby Share) is the fastest when you're side by side. If the other phone isn't one of your contacts, they need to set Quick Share's visibility to Everyone for 10 minutes first. What you send lands in Files > Downloads > Quick Share on their phone.
Sending from Android to an iPhone
This is where texting a video goes worst. Between Android and iPhone, messages go by RCS only when the iPhone has iOS 18 or later and both carriers support it. Otherwise they go by MMS and get compressed. Quick Share won't reach an iPhone across town either.
A link doesn't care what phone the other person has, but a Google Drive link still makes an iPhone user work for it. The Drive page may push them toward Google's app, and tapping play can stream a lower-resolution preview. Tell them to tap download rather than watch it there.
Group chats are the other trap. In a mixed group, one phone that can't use RCS can send the whole thread back to MMS.
Until SendTheStuff launches
If everyone in the chat is on RCS, send the video itself in Google Messages and pick HD+, which keeps original quality. For anyone else, share it through Google Drive:
- Open the video in your gallery or Google Photos, tap Share, and choose Drive. You can pick several videos at once.
- Keep Drive on screen until the upload completes. Android can pause an app you've switched away from, and a big video on mobile data can take a while.
- In Drive, set the video's sharing to anyone with the link.
- Share the link into Messages, WhatsApp, Gmail or any other app, or copy it to paste somewhere yourself.
Check your free space before a long upload. Google's storage is shared across Drive, Photos, and Gmail, so a phone that backs up its photos may have less room than you think. Delete the video from Drive once they've downloaded it.
When it doesn't work
- The video looked blurry when it arrived. The chat was using MMS. Send a link instead, or check that both of you have RCS chat on if you want to use HD+.
- You can't find the HD+ option. It's only offered in RCS chats. In an MMS chat, a link is the way to keep the quality.
- Quick Share can't see the other phone. It only works with nearby devices, and the receiver may need Everyone for 10 minutes turned on.
- They can't find what you sent by Quick Share. Tell them to look in Files > Downloads > Quick Share.
- The Drive link asks them to sign in. The video is shared with specific people only. Change it to anyone with the link.
- Drive says you're out of space. The video counts against the same storage as your photos and Gmail. Free some up, or send a shorter clip.
Frequently asked questions
How do I send large video files from Android to Android?
SendTheStuff will turn it into a link you can drop into Messages or any app, and the other person will download the full video. Until it launches, use Quick Share if the other phone is next to you. Otherwise, send it in Google Messages with HD+ when you're both on RCS, or share a Google Drive link.
How do I send long videos on Android?
Long videos are too big for MMS and for email attachments, so send them as a link. SendTheStuff will take up to 5 GB free, from Chrome, and keep going through a dropped signal. Until it launches, upload the video to Google Drive, keep the app open until it finishes, and share the link from there.
How do I send a large video from Android to an iPhone?
Send a link. Texting it can drop to MMS and compress it, and Quick Share won't reach an iPhone that isn't nearby. The iPhone user taps the link and downloads the original video.
Why do videos look blurry when I send them from Android?
Because they went by MMS, and Google says carriers compress MMS messages. RCS chat with HD+ keeps the original quality, but only when both people have RCS. A link keeps it every time.
Does the recipient need an app or an account?
No. A SendTheStuff link will open in any web browser, and the person downloading won't need an account or an app. A Google Drive link opens in a browser too, even if Drive suggests its app. It asks them to sign in only if you limited it to specific people.
How big a video can I send from Android?
SendTheStuff will send up to 5 GB per transfer on its free plan. Other routes stop sooner: a Gmail attachment at 25 MB, a WhatsApp document at 2 GB. Quick Share skips those caps, but it only reaches nearby phones. A Drive link is limited by the free space in your Google storage.
Can I send several videos from my Android phone at once?
Yes. SendTheStuff will put up to 1,000 files in one transfer, as long as they fit in 5 GB together. Until it launches, you can select several videos in your gallery and share them to Drive in one go.