BitTorrent Sync has announced the release of BitTorrent Sync 1.4, a major update for its P2P sync and sharing tool.

One significant addition is new support for sharing via secure links. This works much like other cloud storage service: generate a secure link, send it to anyone you like, and all they have to do is click it and follow the instructions, no account setup or any other hassles required.

Experienced users can still give access to folders via Keys (previously called Secrets), although Finder/ Explorer integration also makes this easier to use. Right-click a folder, select “Share with BitTorrent Sync” and it’s added to Sync, as well as automatically generating a Key.

Send a link to a friend and that’s all they’ll need to download your data

Sync is now smarter, too, spotting when a synced folder moves and automatically updating itself to work with the new path.

There’s an impressive-sounding list of performance improvements, covering everything from peer discovery to data transfer speeds and CPU consumption.

All this is presented in a new interface, simplified and redesigned to look similar on all platforms and improve ease of use.

BitTorrent Sync 1.4 looks good to us, then, but beware: you can’t downgrade from 1.4 to 1.3, and the new build isn’t fully compatible with Windows XP, Vista or 2003, so shouldn’t be installed on those systems. Stick with version 1.3.109 instead.