Creating ZIP files is, by design, a simple and highly intuitive process. Users on any major operating system (Windows, Linux, Mac, etc.) can combine numerous folders full of bulky files in just a few clicks, instantly reducing bundles of documents into manageable, compressed archives which makes storing and sharing that content far less burdensome. Opening ZIP files is just as easy: a downstream recipient of a ZIP file only needs to download and extract (or “unzip”) the file’s contents to access the content contained within. Password protection is the icing on the cake: anyone can quickly secure their ZIP archive with a personalized password, ensuring only those with exact permissions can access the archive’s contents.
This ease of use has made .zip an extremely popular solution in both limited and large-scale file-sharing scenarios. One person might create a single ZIP archive with 10 files they need to share with their colleague, while another might create dozens of ZIP files containing hundreds of files each, with multiple layers of directories in each file.