Wetransfer controversy: Smash reacts with humor

Imagine. Therefore, You send a very personal letter to a loved one. Similarly, When the latter receives it. Nevertheless, the factor announces that he read it, and that he will inspire it to write his own missives. Consequently, Do you feel betrayed? Furthermore, Well. Similarly, this is what we have felt all the users of Wetransfer when they learned that the world famous service aims to feed an AI from the contents that pass on its platform. Similarly, An immediate bad buzz, but above all a gold opportunity for the alternatives to Wetransfer … Moreover, Smash in mind. Furthermore, Decryption with Romaric Gouedard-Comte, co-founder and CEO of Smash.

The Wetransfer controversy. Consequently, a bad buzz in two acts – Wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor

June 23: Wetransfer, the very popular file sharing service (80 million monthly users claimed, in 190 countries), updates discreetly (finally, he thought) its general wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor conditions of use. Furthermore, The latter now say that service users grant Wetransfer « A global license, non-exclusive, transferable, underlinking and free to use, copy, modify, distribute and create works derived from your content-including in the context of training and development of automatic learning models ». Nevertheless, In other words: Wetransfer would have the possibility of reading. For example, using the files that pass through its site to train and feed an AI. Nevertheless, We… But no !

Please note. Similarly, ⚠️ Service note: Like many platforms, Wetransfert has just changed its CGUs which now allow it to acquire a license right of your content. Therefore, So prefer Swisstransfer, Smash or TransferNow.

-Gerald Holubowicz (@geraldholubi.cz) 2025-07-15t06: 03: 44.629z

July 15: This evolution of CGU arrives at the ears on the tech market. However, then creatives (number one service users), instantly creating wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor a global bad buzz for the Dutch company. For example, The latter is then forced to draw a press release to try to reassure its users and extinguish the fire. For example, But it is too late, the evil is done. Meanwhile, Users are already turning to the alternatives to Wetransfer… and this little game, Smash scores big points!

Smash, a 100% French alternative – Wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor

Smash is also a file sharing service. Moreover, Like Wetransfer, it allows you to send heavy files, in a simple and intuitive way. Moreover, But he also has many advantages in his round. Meanwhile, First, it is a family business, now led by two brothers: Romaric and Rémi Gouedard-Comte. Consequently, Then it is a proudly French company. However, Created in 2017 in Lyon where it is still based. Therefore, Smash hosts its content in Europe, and even in France for French users. However, Finally, and above all, wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor they have always made confidentiality and data security their workhorse. Similarly, A more than winning bet, 8 years later …

The mischief in the world of their main competitor therefore resembles a tremendous opportunity … Meanwhile, which they hastened to seize. Faithful to their tone of voiceas human as it is spicy towards their best enemy (Romaric. one of the two brothers, announced on Linkedin on April 1st that he had won an internship at Wetransfer), they draw a campaign that stings their rival where it hurts.

Game, set, and Smash

Unlike the CGU of Wetransfer, the campaign goes straight to the wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor point. And like their service, it sends heavy. Smash affirms it loud and clear: Wetransfer (Red) belongs to the past. From now on, the present is indeed French: « And now we are moving! »

Available in three visuals, the campaign highlights Smash’s message in a simple and impactful way: we do just like Wetransfer, but we are French!

The message is clear: if you use Wetransfer, and you are looking for an alternative, Smash is there for you. Romaric Gouedard-Comte, co-founder and CEO, returns for us on this real pivotal period for his business.

Interview: Romaric Gouedard-Comte, Co-founder and CEO of Smash

JUPDLC: When the bad buzz around Wetransfer broke out, how did you perceive it?

Romaric Gouedard-Comte: I’m going to be honest, I was a little surprised. Because at the base, we share the same values with Wetransfer. We are addressed to the same wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor target heart, people in the creative industry. That is to say all those who live from the production of their content. who therefore need to transfer them regularly, and this in all serenity.

JUPDLC: people, who precisely attach great importance to the concept of intellectual property … which was undermined by the announcements of Wetransfer.

Romaric Gouedard-Comte: Exactly, and I think that is one of the reasons why the buzz exploded. There, they touched people who are creatives, and who by definition are very, very attached to intellectual property. It is really a subject that is very sensitive. even more today with the omnipresence of the AI which worries and which creates many blurring, especially legal. There. Wetransfer has just reinforced the fears of all those who fear seeing their ideas and their works being exploited by the AI.

JUPDLC: What are your guarantees at Smash on this crucial point of wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor data protection?

Romaric Gouedard-Comte: Smash, in the end, it is a utility. It just allows you to be able to send files from a point A to a point B. So we try to ensure that it is as efficient as possible and as easy as possible to use. And in our mission, we obviously integrate the concepts of security, ethics and data protection of our users’ files. This is really an important subject with us. in which we invest a lot of time, energy and money, and which is part of our DNA from the start. Our guarantee is simple: the files that pass on Smash are never open. They do not undergo any treatment, no action, no manipulation.

« Our guarantee is simple: the files that pass on Smash are never open. »

JUPDLC: What is the concrete impact of this controversy for Smash?

Romaric Gouedard-Comte: What is wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor good for us is that it offers us strong visibility. And what is even better is that it falls at a good time in our development. If it had happened at the start of our adventure, we would not have been ready. There, we have 8 years of existence, 6 million users … Let’s say that we were already identified by many players in the middle. which allowed us to be quickly mentioned as one of the alternatives which “holds up”. And this both on the ethical. responsible security side, especially through the environmental side that is also close to our hearts. What surprised us, on the other hand, was the extent of the boost that it gave us. For 10 days, we have had three -digit growth, both on uses and subscriptions. It is a very strong excitement. even stronger than that experienced during the COVVID, which had already wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor been a decisive accelerator for us.

JUPDLC: Is this excitement Franco-French, or does it exceed borders?

Romaric Gouedard-Comte: Our growth has accelerated worldwide. With us, France has always been the number one country. And there it was reversed. We exploded in the United States, in the United Kingdom … and even in the Netherlands, the historic country of Wetransfer, which was born in Amsterdam. And that had not been anticipated. Besides, the site is not even in Dutch (laughter).

To discover on JUPDLC

JUPDLC: Faced with this almost unexpected opportunity. you have therefore chosen to speak via a campaign as funny as it is aisive …

Romaric Gouedard-Comte: I admit that when it happened, we stopped everything we did (laughter). We know that many people will seek an alternative wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor to Wetransfer. and that it is the perfect time to be as visible as possible. We therefore seized the opportunity to react via different levers, including this campaign. For tone, we stayed on what we like to do, that is to say a little spicy. We do few ad campaigns. but when we speak, on LinkedIn in particular, we like to divert the Wetransfer brand in a funny way. A bit like the Burger King – McDonald’s clashes. And the advantage that we have is that it is a very strong brand. and that we do not need to explain what we do. People immediately understand that we are an alternative to Wetransfer.

« The message is clear: we are the number one French alternative to Wetransfer »

JUPDLC: On this campaign, you press your French side. Why this choice?

Romaric Gouedard-Comte: The message is clear: we are wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor the number one French alternative to Wetransfer. One of our differentiating elements is our French side. We are a French company, and we host our content in France. And that is a big plus for French users. What you need to know is that France is the number one market in Wetransfer. and that there are therefore a lot of users in France to conquer. It’s a huge chance for us!

JUPDLC: Following this very involuntary boost of your main competitor, what are your ambitions for Smash in the near future?

Romaric Gouedard-Comte: Let’s say that the realization of our objectives is moving forward, and this much faster than we thought! We never thought that we wanted to overtake Wetransfer. We are just aware that there is a global market for transferring files which is enormous. and which grows very quickly. With the emergence of AI, more and more content is wetransfer controversy: smash reacts humor created, and therefore shared. We are fortunate to be an actor in this growing market, and we will continue to make ourselves known.