"If I was feeling paranoid and wanted to know if my files are being sent to some third destination..."
then I would not use a third party website.
But I'm not feeling paranoid. Rather, I like downloads. I like so-called "native apps", otherwise known as programs. I like them written in certain languages. I like to read and edit the source code. Javascript is not one of the languages I prefer. Nothing against it. I just don't have much need for it.
I have mutiple methods of transferring files between computers without an internet connection. None of them require Javascript.
The reason we're generally "paranoid" about running arbitrary code in the browser is that every fucking website wants to run arbitrary code in the browser, not because an app that actually has a reason to do it, does.
A website should just be a document when it is just a document, which is 95%+ of the content linked on HN.
Does anyone know of any alternatives that work with VPN / TOR?
I love the fact that sharedrop is open source, you can host it yourself, it works without registration/login and you don't need to install anything except a browser.
Both the times it errored out with “it was not possible to establish direct connection with the peer”
Both devices are in the same wifi network.
https://www.sharedrop.io/
I think of Sharedrop every time HN has a discussion about how the web has gotten too complicated and it should just all be documents etc etc… here’s a truly useful app, cross platform out of the box, neatly sandboxed with no download required. If I was feeling paranoid and wanted to know if my files are being sent to some third destination I’d be able to open up dev tools to check. A lot more challenging with a native app.