Hosting
Independent video platform.
Owned by no big tech group, built for creators.
Most of the video you watch online passes through a handful of large companies. That brings reach and stability, and it also means your films live under terms written for an ad business or a software suite. An independent video platform is a smaller company whose only product is hosting and selling your video. Here is what that changes, and how to check it.
Video hosting for filmmakers · 5 GB free · Paid plans from USD 9/month
By uncompressed.io · Updated October 2026
Short answer
Is there an independent video platform not owned by big tech?
Yes. uncompressed.io is an independent video platform, not part of a big tech group, operated from Québec, Canada according to its Terms. It hosts films without re-encoding them, shows no ads or suggested videos, and runs your own streaming service with purchases, rentals and memberships at 0% commission.
- uncompressed.io: an independent company
- Operated from Québec, Canada, per its Terms
- No ads, no feed, no suggested videos
- Films streamed as exported, no re-encode
- 0% commission on sales and memberships
- Contract clause: your footage never trains a model
Why it matters
What independence changes
for your films
Ownership is not a moral question here. It decides whose business model your video serves.
Whose business you are in
An ad platform earns from viewers' attention, so its player recommends more videos and its terms allow ads. A host that earns from your plan earns by keeping your video clean and your viewers yours.
What the terms let them do
Read the licence. YouTube's terms grant it a worldwide, sublicensable and transferable licence to your content and the right to monetize it. A smaller host can give a narrower licence: only what it needs to store and stream your files.
Who decides your roadmap
In a large group, video can be one product among many, and priorities change with the group. An independent platform's only product is the one you use.
How easily you can leave
Independent or not, check that you can download originals, keep your buyer list and redirect your audience. A platform worth staying on is easy to leave.
Who owns what
Checking a host's owner
from their own pages
From each platform's own terms or site, read 12 October 2026. Vimeo's 4K figure from its playback resolution guidelines, same date.
To check any host yourself, read the first lines of its terms of service (the contracting entity), the footer copyright line, and the licence section. Those three places tell you who you are dealing with and what they may do with your work.
Modern, not just small
What a creator gets
in one place
uncompressed.io is a video platform for filmmakers and creators: it hosts films without re-encoding them, runs your own streaming service with purchases, rentals and memberships at zero commission, and offers Leak Shield, a per-buyer watermark and leak search add-on.
Host
Films stream as exported, with password, unlisted and embed-only modes on every plan.
Review
Client review links with notes pinned to the frame; no client account needed.
Sell
Purchases, rentals, downloads and memberships from a shop under your name, 0% commission.
Protect
Leak Shield traces a leaked copy to its buyer; it reduces risk and makes leaks traceable, but cannot guarantee a film never leaks.
Who this is not for
uncompressed.io, in one table
Read from the live price list. Verified 2026-10.
| Commission on sales | 0 percent, at any volume. Buyers pay into your own payment account; your card processor's fee applies. |
|---|---|
| What you can sell | Purchases (stream forever), downloads, rentals with a viewing window, memberships with monthly or yearly tiers, bundles and series. |
| Member tools | Free trials per tier, coupon codes, gift memberships, refunds and free access from your earnings page. |
| Your storefront | A shop under your name at yourname.uncompressed.io/on-demand, or on your own domain. Buyers need no account. |
| Picture quality | Films stream as you exported them: no re-encode of video or audio, with an optional lighter copy for slow connections. |
| Viewing hours included | Lite 1,000, Pro 5,000, Max 15,000, Studio 25,000 hours a month, then USD 29 per extra 20,000-hour block. Playback never pauses. |
| Plans | Starter free (5 GB, one film at a time); Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month; yearly is one month free. |
| Leak Shield (optional) | Every buyer gets their own invisibly marked copy; the open web and torrent indexes are searched; a confirmed leak names and blocks the buyer and sends the takedown. USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year, any paid plan. |
| Inclusion window | The streaming platform is included with every paid plan for members who switch it on before 31 December 2026, and stays included for them afterwards; after that date new activations add USD 39 a month. |
Plans and add-ons: pricing. The whole cluster starts at the creator platform guide.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is an independent video platform?
An independent video platform is a video host that is not part of a large technology or media group, and whose business is hosting, streaming or selling video for its users rather than advertising or a wider software suite. uncompressed.io is one: an independent company whose Terms say the service is operated from Québec, Canada.
Is uncompressed.io independent?
Yes. uncompressed.io is an independent company, not part of a larger technology group. Its Terms state that the service is operated from Québec, Canada, and is governed by the laws of Québec and of Canada applicable there.
Who owns YouTube, Vimeo and Frame.io?
YouTube's terms state that the entity providing the service is Google LLC. Vimeo's terms are made with Vimeo.com, Inc. and refer to its parents and affiliates. Frame.io's site carries an Adobe Inc. copyright line and Adobe branding. Figures read 12 October 2026.
Does an independent platform use my videos to train AI?
It depends on the contract, not the size of the company. uncompressed.io's terms include a contract clause that customer footage is never used to train a model. Read the licence section of any host's terms before you upload.
Is an independent platform riskier?
A smaller company has less scale and less history than a big tech group. Reduce the risk the same way you would with any host: keep your masters on your own drives, check that you can download originals, and keep an exported list of your buyers.
When is a big platform the better choice?
When you need its audience. YouTube's discovery is unmatched, and a trailer there can send viewers to the full film on an independent host.
An independent home for your films.
Start free with 5 GB, no credit card. Paid plans: Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month, with 0% commission on what you sell.
Sources
- 1.YouTube Terms of Service (read 12 October 2026)
- 2.Vimeo Terms of Service (read 12 October 2026)
- 3.Frame.io home page (footer and branding) (read 12 October 2026)
- 4.uncompressed.io Terms (read 12 October 2026)