Video too big to email? How to send it anyway

How big an email can be

The limit counts the whole email, and attachments grow by about a third when they’re sent. So a 20 MB video can be refused by an account that allows 25 MB.

1. Let your mail app send a link

• Gmail: attach the video as usual. Over 25 MB, Gmail uploads it to your Google Drive and puts a link in the email. It uses your Drive storage (15 GB free, shared with Gmail and Photos), and you may be asked to let the person open it.
• Outlook.com: save the video to OneDrive, then attach it from there. They get a link to the file in your OneDrive.
• Apple Mail: attach it, and Mail offers to send it with Mail Drop. Files up to 5 GB, kept for 30 days, and they don’t count against your iCloud storage.

This works for one file to one person. It gets awkward with a whole folder, files over a few GB, or when your cloud drive is full.

2. Upload it and paste a share link

Any file transfer service gives you a link you can paste into an email. In FDD Transfers:

1. Drop the video in

   Drop it on your projects. A project is made at once, named after the file and dated today, and the upload starts. Big files go up in parts, so if the connection drops, the upload carries on from where it stopped.

2. Share it

   In the file’s menu, Share opens your phone’s or computer’s own share options (WhatsApp, Mail, Messages, AirDrop). Or copy the link and paste it anywhere. It lasts 30 days.

3. They watch, then download

   The link opens in any browser, with no account. They can play the video first, then download the original.

The email stays small, so it never bounces. You can see how many times the link was downloaded, and turn it off if it went to the wrong person.

3. Make the video smaller

For a short clip someone only needs to watch, you can shrink it below the limit. HandBrake (free, Windows and Mac) does this: open the video, choose a preset such as “Fast 720p30”, and export. On an iPhone, sending as a link or by Mail Drop is easier than shrinking it.

Two things to know:

• A smaller video has less detail. Don’t send a shrunk copy for editing, colour or projection.
• Zipping doesn’t make video smaller. It’s already compressed, so the zip is almost the same size.

Common questions

Why does Gmail say my file is too big when it’s under 25 MB?

Attachments grow by about a third when an email is sent. Keep files under about 18 MB, or send a link.

What’s the biggest video I can email?

As an attachment, 20 to 25 MB. As a link in the email, there’s no real limit: it depends on where the file is stored.

Is a link as safe as an attachment?

Often safer: you can add a password, choose when it expires, and turn it off. An attachment stays in their inbox for good.