How to use Bitwarden Send (and when you should)

How often have you had a tax document, contract, application, assignment, will, or some other type of document that contained sensitive information -- but that you still had to share with someone? That document might contain your Social Security number, bank account, or other information -- which could be disastrous if the wrong person got their hands on it. But because you found yourself in a situation where you had to send the document, you might have simply emailed it, assuming it was the safest route.

It's not.

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Email can be intercepted. And, if not encrypted, can be easily read by anyone. That's why, when you need to send such data, you should use a more secure method of transmission. One such method is via the Bitwarden password manager, which includes a feature called Bitwarden Send.

Bitwarden Send allows you to securely send either files or texts in such a way that it not only encrypts the contained information but also enables only those with the associated link to access the file. Even better, you can configure the send such that it:

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You can attach any file type you want to a Send, such as documents, spreadsheets, images, videos, text files, databases…whatever you need. The only restriction is that the file cannot exceed 500 MB.

How to create a Bitwarden Send

What you'll need: The only things you'll need for this are the Bitwarden app (Bitwarden Send is available to both free and paid accounts), a valid Bitwarden account, and a file to send. I'm going to demonstrate using the Bitwarden desktop app.

Once you've configured the Send, click the save icon. With Send saved, you'll see it listed in the middle pane. If you right-click the Send listing, you can copy the link, remove the password (if you've added one), and delete the Send.

With the Send link copied, you can then send it via email, SMS, Slack DM, or whatever means necessary. I would suggest (since you might be sending these links via an insecure method) that you always add a password to the Send. You would then want to transmit the password in a separate communication (preferably not the same method used to send the link). For example, if you email the Send link, transmit the password via SMS, Slack, or even (gasp!) a phone call.

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Used wisely, Bitwarden Send can help make it possible to share sensitive files with other users.