Email a video that's too big to attach

How SendTheStuff will get your video into an email

SendTheStuff will keep the video itself out of the email, so no attachment cap will come into it. Here's what that will look like:

• Any device. SendTheStuff will run in the web browser on an iPhone, an Android phone, a Mac or a Windows PC. There'll be nothing to install.
• Any email app. SendTheStuff will hand you a short link to paste into Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail or Apple Mail. Or SendTheStuff will email up to 10 people for you, and their replies will reach you.
• The video exactly as recorded. SendTheStuff won't compress, trim or convert anything. The person you email will download the same file, at the same resolution and frame rate.
• Room for long recordings. SendTheStuff will take videos up to 5 GB per transfer, free.
• Nothing parked in your storage. SendTheStuff will keep the link working for 14 days, then delete the video. Your Google, Microsoft and iCloud space won't be touched.

A long upload on a phone won't have to start over, either. If the connection drops, SendTheStuff will pick up where it stopped.

Why a video outgrows an email so quickly

Every email provider caps what one message can carry, and video is the heaviest thing most people try to attach. Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo Mail all stop at 25 MB. No setting in your email app raises that.

Say you filmed a 4-minute clip of a school play, and the file came out at 350 MB. That's far past what any of those inboxes will take. A higher resolution or a smoother frame rate makes the same minutes heavier still.

Two quieter things push a video over the edge:

• The whole message counts. Yahoo adds every attachment together, and Outlook.com counts the text of the email too. Two short clips can fail where one would have passed.
• Attachments grow in transit. Email carries files as text, which makes them about 33 percent larger on the way. A video just under the cap can still bounce at the recipient's end.

What each email app does with a video that's too big

Each app handles an oversized video its own way. Some refuse it, some swap in a cloud link, and one quietly moves it to your Drive.

Classic Outlook's error reads: "The file you're attaching is bigger than the server allows. Try putting the file in a shared location and sending a link instead."

In Apple Mail, when a video is over your provider's limit, Mail will ask you to send the attachments using Mail Drop. On a Mac sending from an iCloud address, Mail automatically sends the attachments using Mail Drop without asking. Mail Drop is Apple's feature, so other email apps handle big videos their own way.

Send a too-big email to a Gmail address, and it comes back with "Your message exceeded Google's message size limits.". That can happen after the message looked sent, because the recipient's inbox checks size too.

Shrinking the video to fit: what it costs

The first instinct is to make the video smaller. That can work for a short clip, but you pay for it in picture quality.

Your camera already compressed the video when it saved it. Shrinking it further means re-saving it with less data per frame, a lower resolution, or both. Detail goes first: faces soften, text in the frame blurs, and fast motion turns blocky. The harder you squeeze, the worse it looks.

Your options, from kindest to harshest:

• Trim it. Cutting the video down to the part that matters makes it smaller without squeezing the footage you keep. On an iPhone, open it in Photos, tap Edit, drag the ends in and tap Done. Then tap Save Video as New Clip to keep the original too.
• Record smaller next time. A lower resolution in your camera settings gives smaller files from the start. On an iPhone, that's Settings > Camera > Record Video.
• Re-save it with a compressor. A video compressor app, or the export settings in a video editor, can save a smaller copy. Getting a 350 MB clip under 25 MB means throwing most of its data away.
• Zip it. This one barely helps. Video is already compressed, so a zip comes out close to the original size.

If quality matters, keep the original and send it as a link. That's true for a wedding clip, a portfolio reel, or footage someone will edit.

SendTheStuff won't offer a compressor, and that's deliberate. It will send the file as it is, so there'll be nothing to shrink.

Will the person you email be able to play it?

Size isn't the only thing that stops a video. The file's format matters too, and a link doesn't change it.

• iPhone videos are often HEVC. An iPhone set to High Efficiency records in HEVC. When it's emailed to a device that can't play HEVC, Apple says it might be converted to H.264. A link skips that step, so the recipient gets the HEVC file itself.
• If they can't open it, they can try a different video player, or you can record future videos in H.264. On an iPhone, set Settings > Camera > Formats to Most Compatible.

What they see when they open your email depends on the route:

• A Gmail Drive link opens Google Drive. If the file stays private, people without a Google Account can't see it, so choose "Anyone with the link" when Gmail asks.
• A Mail Drop link downloads the video from iCloud. It works for 30 days, then it expires.

A SendTheStuff link will open a download page with the video's name, its size and its expiry date. They'll download the original file.

Until SendTheStuff launches

Here's how to send the video as a link today, in whichever app you use.

Gmail:

1. Attach the video as usual. Over 25 MB, Gmail swaps in a Google Drive link by itself. On a computer, you can also start with Insert files using Drive.
2. When Gmail asks about sharing, pick "Anyone with the link" so anyone you email can open it.
3. Send. Once everyone has the video, delete it from Drive to get your storage back.

Outlook.com:

1. Select Attach, then Upload and share, and pick the video. It can be up to 2 GB.
2. Select Share link, and the video goes in as a OneDrive link.

Yahoo Mail, or any other app: upload the video to a cloud storage service. Set it so anyone with the link can view it, then paste the link into your message.

Apple Mail: attach the video, and accept Mail Drop when Mail offers it. You need to be signed in to your Apple Account. On a Mac, tick Don't ask again for this account to use it every time.

Each app has more detail on its own page: Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail and the iPhone.

When it doesn't work

• Gmail says "Couldn't send message". The video didn't finish uploading to Drive, for example because your storage is full or the connection is slow. A free Google Account's 15 GB is shared across Drive, Photos, and Gmail, so clear some space or use another service.
• The shrunk video looks blocky. It was squeezed too hard. Go back to the original and trim it instead, or send it as a link.
• The email bounced after it seemed to send. The recipient's inbox has its own cap. With Mail Drop, Apple warns that the recipient's email app might have a smaller message size limit. A link keeps the email small enough for anyone.
• Mail Drop never offered itself. Mail Drop is Apple's feature, and it needs you to be signed in to your Apple Account. If you're writing in another email app, send a link instead.
• The recipient can't play the video. It's probably HEVC from an iPhone. Ask them to try another player, or see the section on playing it above.

With a cloud link or Mail Drop:

• The recipient lands on a request for access. Your cloud link is shared with named people only. Change it to anyone with the link and send it again.
• The Mail Drop link has stopped working. It lasted 30 days. Send the video again for a fresh one.