Mega
MEGA (stylized as MEGA) is a file hosting and cloud storage service operated by MEGA Limited, a company headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, that provides end-to-end encrypted storage, file sharing, secure chat, and related tools with a primary focus on safeguarding user privacy through zero-knowledge architecture.[1]Launched on 19 January 2013 by German-Finnish internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom as a privacy-oriented successor to his previous platform Megaupload—which had been seized by U.S. authorities in 2012 amid allegations of facilitating large-scale copyright infringement—MEGA differentiated itself by implementing user-controlled encryption from the outset, allowing files to be accessed solely by account holders without server-side decryption capabilities.[2][3]
The service offers a free tier with up to 20 GB of storage, expandable through user achievements and referrals, alongside paid Pro plans scaling to 16 TB or more, and has expanded into ancillary products like VPN services and password management while maintaining open-source client applications for transparency.[1][4]
Notable for its rapid adoption, MEGA reached over 270 million registered users and 100 million mobile app installations by its 10th anniversary in 2023, reflecting widespread appeal among individuals and businesses seeking alternatives to less private cloud providers.[4]
Despite these milestones, MEGA has faced significant scrutiny over its security claims, including 2022 research by ETH Zurich cryptographers identifying multiple vulnerabilities in its encryption protocol that enable file confidentiality breaches and malicious insertions by parties with backend access, prompting questions about the robustness of its zero-knowledge promises despite client-side open-sourcing.[5][6]
Dotcom himself severed operational ties with the company in 2015 and later publicly cautioned against its use, citing concerns over internal changes post his involvement.[7]