The Enshittification of File Transfer: How WeTransfer Went From Beloved to 1.3 Stars

In July 2024, private equity firm Bending Spoons acquired WeTransfer. Eighteen months later: 1.3 stars on Trustpilot , a free plan that barely qualifies as functional, and a co-founder so disgusted he launched a competitor. This is what happens when financial engineering meets consumer software. The Timeline Jul 2024 — Bending Spoons Acquires WeTransfer At this point, WeTransfer has a generous free plan: unlimited transfers, 2GB per transfer, 7-day link expiry, no account needed. The product is loved. The brand is iconic. Bending Spoons buys it. The clock starts. Sep 2024 — 75% of Staff Gone Three-quarters of WeTransfer's workforce fired. Not restructured. Not reassigned. Fired. This is Bending Spoons' signature move — they did it to Evernote (129 people), Meetup (significant cuts), and Filmic Pro (acquired and shut down entirely). The pattern isn't subtle. Dec 2024 — Free Plan Gutted Monthly transfers capped at 10 (was unlimited) File size limit set to 3GB, hard-enforced Link expiry c