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Hello folks,
Over the past weeks we have been fully focused on the projects we already introduced in previous updates. Most of our energy has gone into the new mobile app, which has taken up a significant part of our time and attention as we get closer to the first beta release.
Because of that there are fewer new topics to cover this month. But we still want to keep you in the loop, give a quick status overview and highlight what is coming next.
Let’s get into it.
The brand-new Mobile App is (almost) here
As we teased in previous posts, the completely rebuilt Filen mobile app is just around the corner. After a long development and internal testing phase, we’re now getting ready to kick off the closed beta ,which means real users will finally get their hands on the new app and help us make sure everything is polished before the public release.
We’ve already shared a few highlights, but let’s quickly recap what’s coming in the new mobile experience:
- A fresh, modern home screen with better structure and navigation
- A completely redesigned media player for video and audio, including playlist support
- Smarter, more reliable automatic camera uploads
- A new native look and feel tailored to both Android and iOS
- Major performance improvements for previews, gallery loading, and responsiveness
- Better document support with improved rendering for markdown, code, and common office files
- Global Search across your entire cloud, which we expect to be available by the start of the beta or at the latest, by the public release
- A better code structure to make it easier for future new developers to maintain and improve the mobile apps.
We’re currently gathering beta testers and will continue rolling out invites. If all goes well, we’re aiming to run a thorough and focused beta to make sure the final release is as stable, fast, and intuitive as possible. We have also already covered all this in a separate post a few days ago.
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Growing the Team
Some of you may have noticed a few new job posts on the Hub lately and yes, we’re hiring. As we continue to scale and support an ever-growing set of products, we’re working toward building a more sustainable, focused development structure.
Historically, our small (but very capable) team has worked across multiple areas at once, switching between mobile, web, client, and backend infrastructure. While that’s worked surprisingly well given our size, it also means that non-critical bugs in one product might go unaddressed while a major release is underway in another. We understand that this has caused some frustration, and we’re taking concrete steps to improve.
To address this, we’re now actively hiring dedicated product developers whose focus will remain year-round on a single area of the Filen ecosystem. This means faster iteration, better long-term maintenance, and more consistent updates.
Right now, we’re hiring for:
- A Mobile App Developer, focused solely on our iOS and Android apps
- A Frontend Developer, to help us improve usability and interface quality across all platforms
- An Open Developer Position, where we invite general applications and match applicants to the areas that best fit their strengths
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You can apply using our smart application tools or the traditional way via email. And depending on how quickly we fill these roles, more positions may follow later this year and next year.
Sync improvements (Desktop Client)
The Sync is one of those features that most users expect to just work quietly in the background without needing attention. And for many people, that is exactly what it does. But as Filen has grown and our user base has become more diverse, we have seen more complex usage patterns that reveal some of the current system's limitations.
In recent weeks, we have received a rather sudden increase in reports of unexpected sync behavior, missing files, and high memory usage. In many of these cases, the issues come from specific setups, such as using Git inside synced folders, storing files on network drives, or running external tools that modify files outside the Filen client. The current sync engine is optimized for standard file usage, and some of these more advanced workflows fall outside of what it was originally built to handle. While the system works reliably in most use cases, it can struggle when other software interacts with the same files in unpredictable ways.
To ensure the sync is 100% reliable in all situations, we’re planning a complete rewrite of the sync engine using our new Rust-based SDK. This rewrite will also focus heavily on performance, particularly reducing memory and CPU usage. In internal testing, the current client can consume an unnecessarily high amount of memory during large or complex sync operations. With the Rust rewrite, we expect that number to drop significantly, along with a noticeable reduction in CPU usage and overall system impact. This work is expected to begin in Q3 or Q4 of this year. While we are not committing to a specific timeline, the goal is to deliver real improvements before the larger API overhaul begins.
Beyond performance, this rewrite will also allow us to better handle edge cases and address some of the sync inconsistencies that users have reported. It also sets the stage for additional improvements to come, including support for features like Filen Spaces and smarter file handling. In addition, we’re exploring OS-specific enhancements, including deeper integration with Windows and macOS special sync systems.
Many of the deeper structural changes, such as reducing the total number of sync-related requests and improving long-term maintainability, will follow as part of the API v4 update, described below.
If something goes wrong with sync today, your data should still be safe. Nothing should ever be permanently deleted without your input. You can usually recover files through the past versions section in the web app or by checking the .filen.trash.local folder on your device.
We will continue working on sync improvements throughout the rest of the year and will share more as specific updates become ready. As always, thank you to everyone who reports issues. Your feedback helps us prioritize what matters most.
API v4 – Under the Hood Changes That Matter
One project that has been in the background for quite a while, and which we have mentioned briefly in a few previous posts, is API v4. It is a major update to how our clients interact with the Filen backend. While most of the changes happen behind the scenes, they will have a real impact on performance, reliability, and how quickly we can build and ship improvements across the platform.
API v4 is part of our longer-term roadmap, and its release is currently planned for sometime in the first half of 2026. Work on it will begin gradually, likely after the mobile app rework is complete and once we have made progress on the Rust-based sync rewrite. We are taking our time with this, as it is a foundational project that will affect nearly every part of the Filen ecosystem.
Here is a quick overview of what is planned:
Fewer requests, better performance: Many operations currently require multiple server requests. With API v4, these will be simplified or combined. This should noticeably improve speed and responsiveness, especially for syncing small files.
No more passive polling: Clients will no longer check in with the server repeatedly to see if anything has changed. Instead, the server will notify clients directly when updates occur. This is more efficient and helps avoid issues for users behind strict or filtered DNS setups.
Global locks without the overhead: To prevent conflicts when multiple clients are connected, we currently use global account locks during certain operations. While effective, these add extra server requests. API v4 will maintain the same safety guarantees but remove the added overhead.
Moving away from JSON: We are switching from JSON to a binary data format. This will reduce bandwidth usage by about 50 percent and improve memory efficiency, especially during large operations.
Improved session handling: We are redesigning how sessions are managed. This will reduce unnecessary load and make it possible to provide more control over active sessions in the future.
Pagination and smaller responses: Some API responses currently return large payloads, sometimes hundreds of megabytes. API v4 will introduce pagination so that responses are broken into smaller chunks, reducing memory strain and improving reliability.
Better security defaults: Authentication requirements will be strengthened across key actions. This includes requiring re-authentication for sensitive operations and improving access controls for previews and file metadata.
Code cleanup: The API update will also include a cleanup of backend systems that have become harder to maintain. This will make future development more predictable and help us avoid unexpected issues when adding new features.
FYI: In addition to all of this, our current plan is for Filen Spaces to become the primary and only method of sharing files between users once API v4 is live. Filen Spaces will be a system for exchanging data using persistent, "virtual rooms" where users can share files with other users in a more structured way. This change will allow us to unify how sharing works across all platforms and simplify security, collaboration, and access control.
Although most of these changes will not be visible to end users right away, they are essential for solving long-standing performance issues and improving the foundation of Filen as a whole. API v4 will be a key part of how we improve sync, reduce server load, and build toward larger features such as Spaces and smarter client behavior.
The Hub & Newsletter
Last but not least: As most of you will have noticed by now, the new Filen Hub and Newsletter are now live (If you're reading this, you're already on the new hub). The Hub will continue to be the central place for updates like this one, and the newsletter lets you subscribe to categories you care about most, so you’ll only get the content that’s actually relevant to you.
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We're still exploring how to better integrate the hub with our homepage, as well as how we can continue to improve our overall communication culture. The hub is an important first step in our ongoing effort to make all necessary information and resources easy to find and accessible to everyone.
Thanks for following along, and as always, thanks for your continued support. We’re excited about what’s coming next and can’t wait to show you more soon.
Until next time,
– The Filen Team
