Does WeTransfer allow you to train UI models on uploaded files?

The company has come under fire after users discovered sweeping updates to its terms of service that appeared to allow the company to train UI models on uploaded files. Although WeTransfer has since removed the controversial text, outrage among users remains.

What was the problem?

WeTransfer users recently discovered that the service had updated its privacy policy with a provision granting it a perpetual, royalty-free license to use user-uploaded content — including to “improve machine learning models that improve content moderation.” The changes were scheduled to take effect on August 8. The wording was so vague that many users, including children’s book author Sarah McIntyre and comedian Matt Lieb, feared that WeTransfer could use or even sell their files to train artificial intelligence without their permission or compensation.

WeTransfer quickly “pushed back”

WeTransfer quickly tried to calm the situation down, stressing in a press release that it does not use user content to train AI, nor does it sell or share files with third parties. The company said that it had considered using AI to “improve content moderation” in the future, but that such a feature “has not been implemented in practice.”

WeTransfer has also since changed its terms of service, removing all mention of machine learning. The updated version now states that users grant the company a “free license” to use their content to “operate, develop and improve the service.”

If you're retweeting this, please read the *whole* thread for context and developments.

WeTransfer have revised their website, but regarding customer trust, they do not come out well from this. They pretend to 'clarify' rather than admit they broke faith with subscribers. https://t.co/fX7AVZbBrL

— Sarah McIntyre (@jabberworks) July 15, 2025

Users are still worried

Despite WeTransfer’s clarifications, the damage has been done and user trust has been shattered. WeTransfer has long marketed itself as a creator-friendly, privacy-conscious file-sharing service. So it’s no surprise that the vague wording around AI and broad licensing rights felt like a betrayal to its users, especially artists and freelancers who worry that their work could be quietly used in machine learning models without consent.

In responses to WeTransfer's official announcement on the X platform, some users expressed the opinion that the service was clearly "testing the waters" with broader AI permissions, but was met with a swift and harsh public backlash and then quickly backed down.

WeTransfer joins a growing list of companies like Adobe, Zoom, Slack, and Dropbox that have drawn criticism for training machine learning systems on user data. Following public outcry, these companies have also been forced to back down or clarify new AI-related policies. WeTransfer likely won't be the last tech company to be caught up in this kind of controversy.