How to Send a Long Video from iPhone

Recent iPhones record high-resolution, high-frame-rate video, so a few minutes of footage can easily reach several gigabytes. Email attachments are limited to a few tens of megabytes, and messaging apps may shrink or reject large clips. If the video is for editing, a client or a family archive, you want the original file, not a compressed copy.

With Share Large Video Files you can upload up to 20 GB straight from Safari and send a link.

Browsers pick files most reliably from the Files app, so start by saving a copy there:

1. Open Photos and select the video (or several videos).
2. Tap the Share button.
3. Scroll down and tap Save to Files.
4. Choose On My iPhone or iCloud Drive, and tap Save.

If the video is stored in iCloud, wait for it to finish downloading to the phone before saving.

1. Open Safari and go to sharelargefilesfree.com.
2. Tap to add files, choose Browse, and pick the video you saved in Files. You can add up to 1000 files.
3. Choose Link or Email. For email, you will verify your address with a 6-digit code.
4. Tap send and keep Safari open on this tab until the upload finishes. Locking the phone or switching apps for a long time may pause or stop the upload.
5. When it is done, tap share to send the link through Messages, WhatsApp or any app using the iPhone share sheet, or show the QR code.

You can also choose a video directly from the photo library when Safari offers it, but saving to Files first tends to be more dependable for very long clips.

Your recipient downloads the exact file you uploaded. There is no compression or re-encoding, so 4K, slow-motion and HDR clips arrive as recorded. iPhones usually save video as HEVC in a MOV container; if your recipient has trouble playing it on an older computer, that is a playback codec issue on their side, not a change to the file.

Shooting 4K? See how to send 4K video and typical file sizes.

• Add an optional password for private videos.
• Turn on delete after first download for one-time sharing.
• The link expires after 1 day and the file is deleted. Use the Transfers page to extend it, resend the email, check download counts or delete early.

Sending from an Android phone instead? Follow the Android guide.

• The video does not appear in Files. Go back to Photos and repeat Share, then Save to Files. Check that you saved it to a folder you can find, such as On My iPhone or Downloads.
• Saving takes a long time. The video may be stored in iCloud with only a small preview on the phone. Make sure you are online and wait for the full-size file to download.
• Not enough storage. Saving to Files creates a copy. If space is tight, save it to iCloud Drive, or delete the copy from Files after your transfer is finished.
• The upload stopped. Keep Safari open and the screen awake for large uploads. Short drops in connection are retried automatically while the tab stays open, but closing Safari or reloading the page stops the upload, and you will need to start again.
• The recipient cannot play the video. The file is unchanged, but some older players do not support HEVC. Suggest a modern player, or change your camera format to the more compatible setting for future recordings.

Still stuck on an email bounce? See email attachment too large, or compare typical app limits on the file size limits page.