Can the password be recovered if I forget it?

No. It is never stored or transmitted, so there is nothing to recover, and the file cannot be opened.

Does the link show the file name?

Not on a password-protected share. The name is locked together with the key, so the link alone reveals neither.

Should I send the password in the same message as the link?

No. That defeats the purpose. Use a different channel.

Password-protect a file you are sending

A link pasted into a chat is only as private as that chat.

Set a password before you share and the encryption key is locked behind it. Anyone who gets the link sees a password prompt and nothing else: not the file, not even its name. Send the password by a different route and the two halves never travel together.

Why a link on its own is not enough

A share link is a credential. Whoever holds it can download, which is why it is long and random. But links get forwarded, quoted in replies, and backed up by whatever app they were pasted into.

A password splits that into two things a person must hold, and only one of them is in the chat.

How it works

The file is encrypted on your machine with a random key, exactly as it always is. Adding a password changes only how that key travels: it is wrapped using PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 at 600,000 iterations, and only the wrapped form goes in the link. The filename is wrapped with it, so the link does not even disclose what you sent.

Deliberately slow key derivation is the point. It costs the recipient a fraction of a second once, and costs anyone guessing that same work every time.

Using it

Open More, top right, and choose Password for the next share.
Type a password. It applies to the next share only.
Share as normal, and send the password separately.

The part people get wrong

Pasting the password underneath the link in the same message protects nothing. Use a different channel: say it out loud, send it another way, or agree it beforehand.

And it cannot be recovered. The password is never stored and never leaves your computer, so if it is lost the file cannot be opened, by the recipient or by us.

Try it

Free, no account, and the person receiving the file installs nothing.

Download Zen-Share

Or send one straight from your browser, with nothing installed on either side.

Common questions

Can the password be recovered if I forget it?: No. It is never stored or transmitted, so there is nothing to recover, and the file cannot be opened.
Does the link show the file name?: Not on a password-protected share. The name is locked together with the key, so the link alone reveals neither.
Should I send the password in the same message as the link?: No. That defeats the purpose. Use a different channel.