How BetaDrop handles your builds
A build you upload is reachable only through an unlisted link you choose to share, it expires on a schedule you set, and the file is deleted when it does. That is the whole model. This page spells out how each part works — and, because a security page that lists only the good parts isn't one, what BetaDrop deliberately does not do.
“Is it safe to share an APK online?” has no single answer, because it depends entirely on where. A public file dump is forever and for everyone. Secure app distribution is mostly about narrowing both of those: who can reach the file, and for how long.
Everything on this page is verifiable in the product today
No roadmap items, no aspirational language. If a protection is listed here, you can see it working in your dashboard right now — and if we don't do something, it's in the “What BetaDrop is not” section below.
Private by default
There is no public gallery of uploads and no browsing other people's builds. Every upload gets an unlisted install URL with a random short id — the link exists only in your dashboard until you send it to someone.
- Install pages are noindex. The page a tester lands on tells search engines to stay out, so a shared link doesn't surface in anyone's search results later.
- Per-link passwords, on every plan. A password gates the install page, so a forwarded link is useless to anyone who does not also have the phrase. Be aware of the edge it does not cover: the file itself is fetched from object storage by direct URL, so a tester who has already downloaded once holds a link the password no longer stands in front of. For a build that must not leak at all, a short expiry is the stronger control. Passwords are deliberately not a paid feature — gating them would push the least security-minded users into sharing unprotected builds.
- You can turn the build off. Disable the build and installs stop through every one of its links immediately; delete it and the file goes with it. Revocation is build-level rather than per-link, so a leaked link is revoked by disabling the build behind it — and the individual link can be password-gated or given a new short id in the meantime.
Links expire — and expired means deleted
A beta build is unreleased work. The safest copy of it is the one that no longer exists, so retention is bounded by design rather than open-ended. Guest uploads expire after 24 hours. On a free account a build defaults to 3 days and can be extended to 30 days; paid plans extend retention further.
When a link expires, a scheduled cleanup job deletes the file from storage. Expiry is deletion, not archiving: there is no recycle bin of old binaries accumulating on our side. Keep your own copies — the canonical home for a build is your CI artifacts, not a distribution service.
No password database to breach
Signing in to BetaDrop uses a magic link or six-digit code sent to your email, a passkey, or Google Sign-In. There is no account password — which means there is no password table to leak, nothing for credential-stuffing lists to match against, and no reused password from another breach that opens your account here. The per-link passwords above protect individual share links; they are set by you, per link, and are not login credentials.
HTTPS everywhere
Every page, upload, and install download is served over HTTPS, and the site sends HSTS so a browser that has visited once refuses to connect insecurely afterward. The build a tester installs travels encrypted from our servers to their phone.
Card details never touch our servers
Payments are processed by Razorpay. When you subscribe, your card details go directly to Razorpay's checkout — BetaDrop's servers see the outcome of the charge, never the card. We couldn't leak what we never hold.
Abuse and takedowns
A distribution service is only as trustworthy as its worst upload, so there is a working takedown path. Malware, phishing, or impersonation on an install link can be flagged through the report-abuse page, and copyright complaints go through the DMCA process. Reports are reviewed and acted on — that protects the testers installing your builds as much as it protects rights holders.
What BetaDrop is not
Not an MDM
BetaDrop gets a build onto a tester's phone. It does not manage the device afterward: no remote wipe, no policy enforcement, no control over what happens to the app once installed. If you need managed devices, you need an MDM — BetaDrop can sit alongside one, not replace it.
Not an app store
There is no review of an app's behavior before its link goes live. A tester installing from a BetaDrop link is trusting the developer who sent it — which is the right trust model for a beta shared inside a team, and the wrong one for software from strangers. iOS builds still carry Apple's signing requirements regardless; BetaDrop never bypasses them.
Ephemeral by design
Expiring links are a feature, not a limitation — but it means BetaDrop is not an archive or a backup. When a build expires it is deleted. The lasting copy of your work belongs in your repository and your CI, not here.
Not a wall of badges
We don't claim certifications we don't hold. If your procurement process requires certified vendors, BetaDrop may not fit yet — we'd rather say that here than have you discover it mid-review.
Found a vulnerability in BetaDrop itself? Email [email protected] with enough detail to reproduce it, or use the contact page if you prefer. We read those first, and we will not pursue anyone who reports a genuine issue in good faith.
Share a build on those terms
Unlisted link, optional password, expiry you control, deletion when it lapses. If that's the model you want for your next beta, it takes one upload.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to share an APK or IPA online?
It depends entirely on where. A build posted to a public forum or a file dump is available to anyone, forever. BetaDrop's model is narrower: every upload gets an unlisted link that only the people you send it to can find, install pages are excluded from search engines, any share link can take a password, and the link expires on a schedule you control — after which the file is deleted.
Who can download my build?
Anyone who has the link — that is the point of link-based distribution — and nobody who doesn't. Links are unlisted random URLs, never published anywhere on the site and never indexed by search engines. If a link travels further than you intended, you can put a password on it, disable the whole build, or delete the build outright, and each takes effect immediately.
How long do files stay on BetaDrop's servers?
Guest uploads expire after 24 hours. Builds on a free account default to 3 days and can be extended to 30 days; paid plans extend retention further. When a build expires, a scheduled cleanup job deletes the file from storage — expiry means deletion, not archiving.
Does BetaDrop store my card details?
No. Payments are processed by Razorpay, and your card details go directly to Razorpay — they never touch BetaDrop's servers. BetaDrop records the outcome of a charge against your subscription, not the card behind it.
How do I report a security issue or a malicious build?
For a build that looks like malware, phishing, or an impersonation, use the report-abuse page — reports are reviewed and acted on. Copyright complaints go through the DMCA page. For a vulnerability in BetaDrop itself, write to us through the contact page and describe what you found.
