YouSendIt

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YouSendIt is a web-based, temporary file hosting site founded in 2003. It markets itself as an alternative to sending large e-mail attachments: once a file has been uploaded to the site, an e-mail is sent to the intended recipient with a link to the file.

Although YouSendIt links are frequently posted to blogs, forums and other websites, the company has always marketed itself as a method of person-to-person communication, in contrast to RapidShare and other one-click hosting services which target those sharing files with a wider audience. In recent years, this has been reflected in limitations to the lifespan of files and to the number of downloads permitted. All files are currently deleted after 7 days or a set number of downloads, whichever happens first. When the service first launched, files remained downloadable until the uploader deleted them by clicking a link. Since the introduction of limited downloads, the number of downloads permitted for anonymous users has been steadily reduced, from an initial unlimited downloads to 100 and now to 50 downloads.

The files can only be found upon entering a specific URL, as in order to protect privacy of uploaders YouSendIt does not feature a search option. Generic search engines like Google or specialized file search engines like Funfail are commonly used to find download links about a specific subject.

The company offers 5 levels of service: Anonymous users can send files up to 100MB in size, to be downloaded up to 50 times. Files uploaded by users who register a free account can be downloaded up to 100 times. The paid service costs $4.99 USD per month, and permits uploads of up to 2 gigabytes, with 100 downloads, Business user accounts cost $19.99 per month with uploads of up to 2gb and 400 downloads, and Business Plus users can upload 2gb files with up to 500 downloads.

According to their website,^[1] YouSendIt transfers 30 terabytes of files per day.

A common abbreviation for YouSendIt used on internet message boards is "ysi". For a brief period around 2005, YouSendIt was widely used to unlawfully share copyrighted music and movie files.^{[citation needed]} Concerns about its use by terrorism suspects brought it to the attention of authorities.[1]

YouSendIt was boosted by a $4.7 million venture capital investment in 2006[2], and recently surpassed 3 million registered users.[3]

Recently, YouSendIt has been in the process of moving over to a Linux-based platform, advertising for web application developers with LAMP skillsets.