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Facebook app Pipe launches, lets you send files up to 1GB in real time

Facebook app Pipe launches, lets you send files up to 1GB in real time

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We reported last week that Pipe, a Facebook app that lets users transfer up to 1GB files for free, would be launching imminently. Today, Pipe is finally going live, enabling just about anyone to transfer files in real time with friends without installing any additional software on their computer.

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pipe 1020 draft 3
pipe 1020 draft 3

We reported last week that Pipe, a Facebook app that lets users transfer up to 1GB files for free, would be launching imminently. "We've set up the hottest club in East Berlin, and we're going to start letting people in next week," CEO Simon Hossell told us. Today, Pipe is finally going live, enabling just about anyone to transfer files in real time with friends without installing any additional software on their computer. We had some issues transferring files as big as 1GB when we tested Pipe, but Hossell told us that the file drop has since been reengineered to allow more flexible large uploads. But once again, the 1GB limit is "theoretical" and depends on the size of the sender and recipients's browser caches. Hossell also said that the company will at some point provide mobile apps and desktop apps that don't depend on your browser cache, but for now, the company chose Facebook and its 900 million-strong user base as its jumping-off point. Android and iOS are on deck.

Grab one of 5,000 invites for Verge readers here, and check out our full report on Pipe to learn how it was built and how it works.