- File-sharing apps may host files with malware
- Box and WeTransfer offer virus scanning only with paid plans
- News comes as the UK seeks to boost proactive scanning of illegal content
Have you been diligently using free versions of Dropbox, Box, or WeTransfer to exchange files about Christmas presents or New Year’s holiday ideas?
If so, you might want to think twice before clicking the ‘download’ button next time, as these free services may host files with viruses or malware, making you more likely to download or share harmful content without realising it.
The warning comes from Surfshark, one of the best VPNs, which recently carried out an in-depth analysis of six super popular file-sharing apps, to find out that most of them don’t scan uploaded files for viruses or malware.
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Most free file-sharing apps could be malware traps
(Image credit: Surfshark)
As per Surfshark’s findings, Box and WeTransfer offer virus scanning only with paid plans, while Dropbox and iCloud do not perform any scanning at all. iCloud relies on Apple device security for malware scanning – a pointless feature if run on Windows.
These stress the eternal reminder: reputation does not always go hand in hand with security – particularly for apps that collectively serve an astonishing four billion active users.
Martynas Dainys, senior VPN service manager at Surfshark, notes that although some of these largest operators do have the necessary technological capabilities, they systematically choose to overlook security features simply because they do not generate direct revenues.
The VPN specialist sums up the dilemma in a concise mantra: “If you don’t pay for a service, you often become the product yourself.”
She warns users to place an appropriate amount of trust in these apps: ultimately, any upload or download operation represents a potential access point that can compromise security, particularly when using their free versions.
“In the end, it’s left to users to make informed decisions about the level of risk they’re willing to tolerate with their data.”
Although it is obvious that using a VPN with integrated antivirus would reduce much of the risk of malware or possible leakage of private information, it is still notable that these apps seek to tackle these security issues through their paid plans, offering significantly better protection.
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For example, Box’s upgraded service offers both antivirus and anti-ransomware scanning, WeTransfer comes with antivirus scanning, and Dropbox provides anti-ransomware protection.
Perhaps even more interestingly, Google Drive and Microsoft’s OneDrive are currently the only platforms that perform antivirus scanning when uploading or downloading files for free users, although Google limits antivirus scanning to files smaller than 100 MB.
Infringing privacy by mass scanning?
Surfshark’s discovery comes just as the UK’s Ofcom regulator shares its intentions to double down on file monitoring in 2026 as part of an expansion of the Online Safety Act.
A process already started in 2025, which requires file-sharing firms and other user-to-user services to take greater responsibility for files shared on their platforms in a bid to halt the sharing of child sexual abuse (CSAM) and other illegal content.
Yet, Surfshark is among the experts warning that these scanning requirements could create enormous privacy risks by allowing external entities, including companies and the government, to access users’ entire digital lives.
While it’s not unreasonable to expect checks of shared content, the move becomes a serious privacy issue when it extends to everyone’s private files – particularly for services such as Dropbox or cloud backup platforms that are mainly widely used to store personal files.
Additionally, scanning systems often make mistakes. “Universal mass scanning of all files shared between people would be an unprecedented expansion of mass surveillance powers, resulting in many false positives, and innocent people having their content flagged,” said James Baker from Open Rights Group.
Regardless of regulations, the indisputable truth still stands: using your own antivirus software increases protection on your device. Because one might well suspect that the day we start entrusting the health of our files to cloud servers could also be the day we lose control of our privacy.
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