compare
Ways to share a video privately, side by side
There's more than one way to show a video to a few people. Here's how the common ones compare on what matters for private sharing, and where each of them fits best.
| What you need | tapeshelf | YouTube | Google Drive | WeTransfer | Vimeo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private until you share it | Yes, every upload | You choose: private, unlisted or public | Yes, until you share | Anyone with the link, unless you limit it | You choose: public or private |
| Links that expire | Video links: from 1 hour to 1 week | No | Only for named people, on work or school accounts | Yes, after 3 days on the free plan | Review links, up to a month |
| A link for one person only | Yes, with a code sent by email | Private videos, for chosen Google accounts | Yes, for people with a Google account | Yes, a list of email addresses | Not on the free plan |
| A password on a link | On Pro | No | No | Yes, on every plan | Paid plans |
| A link to a whole collection | Yes, to your shelf; on Pro also anonymous, without your nickname | A channel or playlist link | A shared folder link | One link per transfer, with several files in it | Showcases |
| Viewers need no account | Yes | Unlisted: yes. Private: a Google account | With “Anyone with the link” | Yes | Yes, for public videos |
| Watch in the browser | Yes, an encrypted stream | Yes | Yes, in Drive's preview | A preview for supported formats | Yes |
| Trade videos | Yes, one for one | No | No | No | No |
| Organize a collection | Categories, stacks, your own order, covers, hidden videos | Playlists | Folders | No: free transfers disappear | Folders and showcases |
| Friends and messages | Friends, messages with videos, “What's new” | Subscriptions and comments | No | No | Follows and comments |
| No ads | Yes, on every plan | No: YouTube may show ads on any video | Yes | No: the free plan shows ads | Yes, none on your videos |
| Open source, your own server | Yes, AGPL; your own server soon | No | No | No | No |
| Free plan | 1 GB per video, 20 GB in all, no ads | Free | 15 GB, shared with Gmail and Photos | Transfers of up to 3 GB | 3 GB of private and embeddable video |
tapeshelf: a private shelf with links and trades
Every video starts private on your shelf, and you arrange the shelf as you like: categories, stacks, your own order and covers, hidden videos. You hand out links that expire, links for one person and, on Pro, links with a password and anonymous links to your whole shelf. People watch an encrypted stream and need no account. You can make friends, message each other and trade videos one for one. Pro adds a video editor. The free tapeshelf browser extension downloads videos from other sites and can save them straight to your shelf. There are no ads, shelves stay out of search engines, and the code is open: soon you'll be able to run tapeshelf on your own server. Private video sharing
YouTube, unlisted or private
An unlisted video stays out of YouTube's search, but anyone with the link can watch it and pass it on, and the link never expires. A private video plays only for the Google accounts you choose. It suits you if you don't mind YouTube's page around your video. tapeshelf or unlisted YouTube
Google Drive
Drive shares any file with chosen Google accounts or with anyone who has the link, and plays videos in its preview. On personal accounts links don't expire, and whoever downloads gets the file as it is, with whatever the camera wrote into it. tapeshelf or Google Drive
WeTransfer
Made for delivering files: you upload, the other person downloads. A transfer can have a password and a list of allowed addresses, and free transfers disappear after three days. Nothing stays behind to share again later. tapeshelf or WeTransfer
Vimeo
A video platform with a polished player for websites. On the free plan a video is public or private, and private means only you and your team; unlisted links and passwords come with the paid plans. tapeshelf or Vimeo
Facts about other services come from their own help pages and plan descriptions, checked in October 2026. Plans change, so check their sites for the latest. Names of other services belong to their owners.
Questions
- What's the best way to share a video privately?
It depends on who's watching. To reach strangers, use a public platform. For a file someone needs to download once, a transfer service does the job. For videos you want to keep in one place and show to chosen people, with links that run out by themselves, use a private shelf like tapeshelf.
- Which of them are free?
All five have a free plan. On tapeshelf it's 1 GB per video and 20 GB in all, with no ads. Links that expire and links for one person are free; a password on a link needs Pro. Pricing