Dumpster Drive Shares Your Unwanted Digital Files With Strangers

[videothumb Mac OS X: Dumpster Drive may be one of the strangest file-sharing services you’ll ever come across, as it’s geared towards sharing files you don’t want with people you don’t know. What seems bizarre and potentially pointless, however, is actually a really compelling idea in the sense that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

What Does It Do?

Dumpster Drive is a very simple concept. You install the app, choose a location for your dumpster, and add any items you don’t want. Within the app, you can empty your dumpster and your digital trash will be added to the community trash pool. Anyone else using Dumpster Drive can dig through that trash pool and download any files. When you do, however, that file now belongs to you and nobody else can download it. The idea is one of transferring file ownership from someone who doesn’t want it to someone who may find it useful.

Is It Safe?

This idea, of course, comes along with some security implications. When you download someone else’s trash, you don’t know what might come along with it. Currently there’s no information discussing how Dumpster Drive is dealing with the potential threat of viruses and malware, so you may want to be careful about the trash you choose to download.

Why Would I Use This?

Dumpster Drive is a file sharing service you’re probably going to either love or hate. You may find it to be completely useless or oddly compelling. While its appeal may not be immediately obvious, it’s an application that’s about curiosity and extending the lifespan of the digital things we often see as simply disposable. The internet is filled with places where we indirectly pry into the lives of strangers. Dumpster Drive just takes a more candid approach.

Currently Dumpster Drive is Mac-only, but the source code is available on GitHub so others can use it to make versions for other platforms.

Dumpster Drive


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