WeTransfer Co-Founder Launches Boomerang File-Sharing Tool
Nalden, the Dutch entrepreneur who helped launch WeTransfer in 2009, is returning to the file-sharing market with a new platform called Boomerang. The move comes as a direct response to his dissatisfaction with the current trajectory of his former company following its acquisition by the Milan-based firm Bending Spoons last year.
Since leaving the company in 2019, Nalden has watched as WeTransfer—which now serves over 70 million monthly active users—underwent significant restructuring, including a 75% reduction in staff. Recent controversies regarding the platform’s use of user data for AI training, which forced the company to revise its terms, served as a turning point for the co-founder.
Returning to Minimalist Roots
Nalden describes Boomerang as a “bare-bones” alternative designed to recapture the simplicity that originally defined his first venture. He aims to avoid the complexity often found in modern tech products, which he believes are frequently built to impress investors rather than serve the end user.
“Bending Spoons doesn’t really care about people,” Nalden stated. He argued that the recent updates to WeTransfer were, in his view, detrimental to the product’s core utility. With Boomerang, the focus is on a utilitarian approach: “It’s like buying a hammer. You possibly don’t want to buy a fancy hammer, but a hammer that just works.”
The service is built on several key principles:
- No mandatory sign-ups: Users can transfer files immediately without needing to verify via email or create an account.
- Privacy-first: The platform does not incorporate advertising and aims to collect minimal user data.
- No AI features: While Nalden uses AI in the backend to build the product, he has committed to excluding AI tools from the user-facing interface.
Service Tiers and Availability
Boomerang offers a tiered system for users. The casual, non-login experience provides 1GB of total storage and a 1GB file size limit, with transfers expiring after seven days. Users who opt for a free account increase these limits to 3GB of total storage and file size, while gaining access to upload history, file management tools, and custom emojis for their sharing pages.
For power users, a premium tier priced at €6.99 per month includes 500GB of total storage, 200GB per folder, and a 5GB file size limit. Additional features at this level include password protection, extended file expiration up to 90 days, custom folder covers, and unlimited user invites per folder. Boomerang is currently accessible via the web, with a dedicated Mac application expected to arrive shortly.