Relay
Live + Cloud delivery
Photon Transfer provides live handoff or temporary Cloud pickup without adding the files to a Vault.
A private cloud drive, divided by design.
Photon Transfer: Live + Cloud. Send live. Share for later. Use Photon Vault for ongoing storage, sharing, and sync.
Photon Vault can replace your cloud drive for your complete file collection while keeping personal, project, client, team, and family data in independent privacy boundaries. Vault Sync maps different local folders or data sets into different Vaults. Photon Transfer moves files when they should not stay. Paid Photon Vault has no per-file upload size restriction, so you can upload files of any size.
File Pass
Fund occasional large sends
Live Relay consumes a File Pass after completed delivery. Cloud transfer consumes it at complete encrypted upload, even if nobody downloads. Incomplete delivery or upload does not consume the pass.
Vault
Private cloud drive, isolated by Vault
Use Photon Vault for your complete collection, with independent client-side encrypted Vaults for sharing, version history, Vault Intake, and per-Vault sync.
Ephemeral over storage
Backup is not delivery.
A legacy storage-first workflow makes sense for backup, shared folders, and long-term access. It is the wrong default for a one-time 50 GiB delivery. PhotonFile Relay is built for active delivery: encrypted bytes move through the live session instead of adding the file to your cloud drive.
Storage should be a choice
Do not burn storage to move data.
If the goal is "move this file now," PhotonFile does not force the workflow through Vault. Use Photon Transfer for Live + Cloud delivery, and use Vault as the private cloud drive for the files you choose to keep. Photon Transfer moves files. Photon Vault keeps them. Vault Intake collects them into the right Vault without collapsing its boundaries.
Storage is separate from transfer
Photon Vault keeps the files you choose to keep.
Relay and File Passes are built for moving files. Vault is a private cloud drive for the files you choose to keep, with usage based on how much you store, not the size of a single upload.
One sync folder vs isolated Vaults
Folders organize your files. Vaults isolate them.
Traditional cloud storage tends to put every folder under one broad privacy boundary. Photon Vault lets you choose where the hard boundaries go. A Vault can represent a personal collection, client, project, team, family data, or another data set, and Vault Sync maps each one to a different local folder or data set.
Compare by operational pain
| Operational pain | Sync.com-style legacy cloud sync | PhotonFile |
|---|---|---|
| One-time oversized delivery | Usually begins as stored cloud content or shared link. | Live + Cloud delivery with Photon Transfer. |
| Long-term storage | Core product model. | A private cloud drive for the full collection, split into independent Vaults. |
| External collection | File request workflow. | Vault Intake ingress into a Vault. |
| Team scale | Per-user team pricing model. | Owner-powered eligible teams. |
| Local boundaries | Legacy sync folder and cloud-file model. | Per-Vault desktop sync maps each work domain to its own local folder or data set. |
| Failed large send | Retry behavior depends on workflow. | Live Relay consumes at completed delivery. Cloud consumes at complete encrypted upload. |
Where PhotonFile wins
- Relay: live sender-to-recipient workflow when delivery, not cloud-drive storage, is the job.
- File Pass: occasional oversized Live or Cloud transfers, with consumption tied to the delivery mode.
- Vault Intake: secure client upload into the right Vault workflow without workspace exposure.
- Per-Vault sync: map each Vault to its own local folder or data set.
- Account Region Move: documented region-control workflow when home-region needs change.
When Sync.com may still fit better
Sync.com is a good fit when the core requirement is legacy secure cloud storage, backup, shared folders, and long-term access.
PhotonFile is the better fit when you want a private cloud drive for your full collection, with isolated Vaults as well as a separate path for one-time transfers.
Choose the PhotonFile workflow
Need a private cloud drive and Live + Cloud transfers?
A one-time 50 GiB send should not have to become cloud storage. Use Photon Transfer for Live + Cloud delivery, File Passes for occasional oversized sends, and Vault as your private cloud drive for the files you keep.