WeTransfer unveils its file transfer API, names Getty Images as first partner

WeTransfer has joined the ranks of fellow file-sharing services Box and Dropbox by opening up its developer API. It will only be available to select partners, beginning with Getty Images. Once integrated, third-party services can incorporate file-transferring capabilities natively into their apps.

“Getty Images was the natural choice to be our first API partner,” wrote WeTransfer chief executive Bas Beerens in a statement. “They have a broad customer base of creatives that regularly needs high-resolution image transferring. WeTransfer is all about making it easy to share large files, with nearly sixty percent of our users working as creatives.”

Users of Getty Images’ iStock service can now not only purchase photos and videos, but also transfer them seamlessly through WeTransfer’s API. But subscribers of WeTransfer’s premium service will also reap some benefits from this partnership, as they’ll receive free personalized wallpaper backgrounds that use imagery curated by Getty Images. For those who don’t have WeTransfer Plus, the company is offering a free one-year subscription — a $120 value.

WeTransfer, with its focus on creative professionals, falls within the same category as Dropbox, Box, and even Hightail, but this move indicates the company’s focus on the growing niche market. It’s late to the game, not only in opening up its API, but even in partnering with Getty Images — Dropbox struck a deal with the stock photography service in August, and many of the popular services already have API feeds available for all developers to tap into.

However, the benefit for iStock users is that they now have more flexibility in choosing which service they wish to transfer files from. And for those in the agency world, where a simple solution is necessary, WeTransfer may stand out, especially with its ephemeral offering (send up to 2GB and it’ll remain downloadable for seven days).

The most important thing about WeTransfer is that it’s in the business of transferring, not storing, files. So instead of dealing with any file management issues in an attempt to duplicate what other companies already offer, WeTransfer can appeal to creative professionals by focusing on doing one thing really well: sending files.

Today’s announcement comes just weeks after the company revealed that this year alone it transferred more than a billion files, or approximately 85 million transfers a month. It was also recently admitted into the first class of the Smashd Labs accelerator, which is run by talent manager and venture capitalist Troy Carter.

And just a couple of weeks ago, WeTransfer debuted a web music player that allows people to sample songs and music videos in an exclusive setting. The move is aimed at not only differentiating WeTransfer from Dropbox and Box, but also opening up into completely different areas, like streaming services, social networks, and video sites. The inclusion of an API could be aimed at spurring innovation in how people think about what file transferring really is and how creative companies, brands, and creative individuals can be with it.