Tools for clients
Share sensitive data, leave no trace.
Two tools we built and run so you and your team can send passwords and files securely: Secrets and Transfers.
Why you shouldn't send passwords over chat
Every day, at every company, someone sends a password over WhatsApp, a bank statement by email or a backup through a public link that never expires. The problem isn't the sending: it's what's left behind. The message is stored on the phone, in the chat app's cloud, in the recipient's inbox and in everyone's backups. Months later, that password is still there, within reach of anyone who gets into one of those accounts.
At AVILA®, the Monterrey technology company that has provided IT support and security to its clients since 2003, we built two tools to solve this: Secrets, to send sensitive text with a self-destructing link, and Transfers, to send and receive files with links that expire. Both are live, we run them ourselves and they're part of what we offer our clients.
Secrets: passwords and sensitive data
Secrets lets you share a password, an access key, banking details or any confidential text of up to 10,240 bytes (about ten thousand characters). It works without an account and it's free.
How does it work?
Type the text on the Secrets page and choose how long it lasts: 5 minutes, 1 hour, 24 hours or 7 days.
Your browser encrypts the text with AES-256-GCM before sending it. The decryption key is appended to the link after the "#" sign, a part that browsers never send to the server.
You send the link however you like. Whoever opens it sees the text once; after that, the secret is deleted.
If you sent it by mistake, the revocation link deletes it before anyone opens it.
Because the key never reaches the server, not even AVILA® can read the content. If someone finds the link in a chat weeks later, there's nothing left to see.
Options worth using
PIN: adds a second factor. Send the link through one channel and the PIN through another; after 5 failed attempts, the secret is deleted.
Multiple views: for information several people need to see while the link is active.
QR code: generated in your browser to pass the link to a phone without typing it.
With a free account: recipient verification by email, a notification when the secret is opened, file sending and the option to request a secret from someone else (for example, so a vendor can send you a password securely).
Transfers: files with links that expire
Transfers is the portal AVILAPRO Group companies and their clients use to send and receive files: contracts, backups, project deliverables, photos or documents that shouldn't sit on a public link forever.
How does it work?
Your company's administrator gives you an account. Only registered accounts can send; recipients don't need an account.
You upload the files, choose how long the link stays active and, if you like, set a password.
Transfers emails the link (or you share it over WhatsApp from your phone) and notifies you when someone downloads.
When the link expires, the files are permanently deleted after a short grace period.
What Transfers takes care of
A password per transfer with a limit on attempts.
Requesting files: you send a request and the outside party uploads the files from the link they receive by email, without creating an account.
Visibility for the company: the administrator sees who sent what, to whom and when, and can disable a transfer, but can't download anyone else's files.
Isolation: each company sees only its own data, and every access is logged.
Blocking executables to reduce the risk of sending malicious programs.
Transfers isn't a storage or backup system: it's for moving files. To store and back up information, we can help with infrastructure and Azure cloud or with Microsoft 365.
Which one should you use?
A password, a token or banking details: Secrets.
One or more files for someone outside your company: Transfers.
Receiving a password from a vendor: Secrets, with the request-a-secret option (requires a free account).
Receiving files from a client or vendor: Transfers, with the request-files option.
Information that should stay stored and shared within the team: neither one; that's what SharePoint, OneDrive or a custom system is for.
How to activate Transfers for your company
If your company is an AVILA® client and wants to use Transfers, submit a request through Customer support with the name of the person who will manage the accounts. We'll set up your company, the administrator invites the team and sets the limits on expiration and file size. If you're not a client yet, write to us through contact.
These tools are also an example of what we build: if your organization needs its own secure portal, with its own rules and branding, we develop it as custom software. See more in apps built by AVILA®.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to send a password with Secrets?
It's much safer than sending it over chat or email. The text is encrypted in your browser with AES-256-GCM, the key exists only in the link, and the server stores only the encrypted content, which is deleted when it's opened or when it expires. For extra protection, add a PIN and send it through a different channel than the link.
What happens if I lose the link to a secret?
It can't be recovered. Because the key to decrypt the text exists only in the link, neither you nor AVILA® can open it again. That's a consequence of the design: what makes the tool secure also makes it impossible to recover what's lost. Create a new secret and, if it was a password, consider changing it.
How long are files kept in Transfers?
Until the link expiration you chose, within the limits set by your company's administrator. When it expires, the files are permanently deleted after a short grace period. Records of who downloaded and when are kept separately, for the company's audit log.
Does the recipient need to create an account?
No. With Secrets, no one needs an account to open a link, and with Transfers, recipients download from their link without signing up. Only senders in Transfers need an account, which your company's administrator provides.
Do they cost anything?
Secrets is free, with or without an account. Transfers is free for its users; accounts are given to AVILAPRO Group companies and their clients. If you'd like to activate it for your company, request it through Customer support.
Where is the information stored?
Secrets stores only encrypted content that the server can't read. Transfers is hosted in a data center in Dallas, Texas, United States, with encrypted connections, protected passwords and isolation between companies. Both have a privacy notice and terms of use published on their websites.
Can you build a tool like this with our branding?
Yes. We develop custom portals and internal systems with your branding, your security rules and your integrations. Secrets and Transfers are examples of what we can build. See quoting tools and internal systems or write to us through contact.