Controlling the cloud: how to make the most of your online storage

Working from home for the past year has given us all a new appreciation of online services. The ability to access services and information regardless of your location is one that has been invaluable in recent months as we all adjust to ways of working that we never anticipated.

At the heart of all this is the cloud. But the cloud isn’t just for business use. It can be handy for backing up your personal files, sharing with family and keeping a copy of your important information so you can access it anywhere.

The cloud stores all your data on the internet rather than on a physical drive in your possession. Once you have an internet connection, it is easy to keep your files saved and updated across multiple devices. You can collaborate with people, watching as your files update in real time and are saved to your shared account.

But there are some drawbacks. You need good internet access to get the most from cloud. If your connection goes down, you may find yourself cut off, even temporarily.

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If your service permits offline access to files, your changes will be saved as soon as the internet connection comes back.

Security

It goes without saying that any service to which you are entrusting your personal, private or business files must have adequate security. That means encryption, strong passwords and extra security hoops you should jump through before being given free rein among your personal data.

There are other things you can do to secure your files as much as possible.

Implement two-factor authentication If your cloud storage service offers two-factor authentications, implement it. Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your account, by requesting an additional code when you log in with your password. That can be delivered either by text message, through an authenticator app or by using another trusted device to approve a log-in. It won't prevent every security threat, but it will certainly make it more difficult for anyone trying to break in.

Don't re-use passwords. Always use unique, hard-to-guess passwords for each log-in you create. If one service is compromised, then you are leaving the rest of your accounts open to malicious users.

Be wary of connected apps Third-party apps can sometimes ask for access to your online file storage to make it easier for you to share files and folders. But once that access is no longer needed, revoke it. Check in regularly to see what apps have access to your online storage – and do a clear out.

Deactivate old devices Similarly, you probably have an old phone or two that still has access to your old accounts. Google and Apple, for example, allow you to check in on what devices have access to your account, and revoke that access when necessary. Keep a close eye on that list, and prune it when necessary.

What are the options? There are plenty of file-sharing and storage services out there, so finding the right one can be difficult. Do you prize storage and price over file size? Can you share easily with friends, family and colleagues? Does it have any limitations on file transfers? And most importantly, how much will it cost?

Google One Google used to be the go-to for free file storage. With 15GB to share between your email, photo storage and other Google services for free it was streets ahead of the rest.

Photo storage was free too, and unlimited, as long as you chose the high quality setting and not actual size, meaning Google would upload a very good resolution version of your photograph so you could access it from anywhere.

But, inevitably, that particular gravy train is coming to an end. Change is coming and from June 1st Google is limiting free storage to 15GB for all it services – high-quality photographs and all.

In its place is a tiered system of storage plans under the Google One brand that will offer users anything from 100GB of storage to 30TB for a fee. The cheapest plan costs €2 a month after an initial six-month discount to €1; the most expensive will set you back €150 a month.

There are ways around that cap, for example if you buy certain Google products you get up extra storage free. That is usually time limited though, so best to have your options lined up for when it ends.

iCloud

If you have an Apple device – iPad, iPhone, Mac – you have access to iCloud Drive. One for committed Apple ecosystem users, the service offers file storage and back up for your Apple devices so you can keep all your files synchronised across all your Apple devices. There is a web interface too.

While Google was offering large amounts of storage free to customers, Apple capped its free plan at 5GB. That’s probably not even enough to back your iPhone up to the cloud, let alone do anything else.

But it also offered a range of plans, from 50GB to 2TB. The cheapest plan starts at 99 cent a month, the most expensive is €10 a month. The 200GB and 2TB plans can be shared with your family too, so you don’t have to pay out for multiple storage plans.

The web interface is where things get a bit messy. There is no way to search the files for a specific keyword; you’ll have to arrange them by name, type, size or date and root out the correct file yourself. That puts iCloud Drive at a disadvantage to other services, including Google.

Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft has followed a similar plan to Apple here, offering a small amount of storage free of charge before asking users to pay an extra fee. In this case, it’s 5GB, which will be quickly swallowed up by all the files that try to back up to OneDrive.

My Microsoft OneDrive is always full, because I’ve never bothered to upgrade from the basic plan. The 100GB plan costs €2 a month, while the Microsoft 365 Personal plan will not only give you 1TB of storage for your own use, but it will also give you access to Skype and Microsoft Office for €7 a month. The family plan, which can be shared with up to six people, is €10 a month, which will give each person 1TB of storage, plus access to security features and productivity apps such as Microsoft Word.

Dropbox

I have a love-hate relationship with Dropbox. Once the free storage ran out, I largely abandoned it. The company limits its free plan to 2GB, although you can earn extra storage by recruiting others.

Part of its initial appeal was the ability to sync a folder on the desktop with my Dropbox account, something that is offered by most cloud storage services now. The free plan no longer offers smart sync with your desktop folder though, and you are limited to 100MB for file transfers. Upgrading to Dropbox Plus for €10 a month resolves a lot of those issues, with 2TB of space, smart sync and a 2GB limit on file transfers. It’s limited to a single user though; if you want a family plan, it will cost €17 a month, which will give you up to 2TB of storage for each of the six family members, and a business plan will cost you from €20 a month.

Box

When Box launched in 2012, it offered 50GB of free storage for life for users who signed up before a certain date. Now that’s 10GB, but it is still impressive free storage. The service claims to offer secure collaboration for users, with two-factor authentication and secure file transfer. The free plan comes with a 250MB limit on uploads, which will limit its usefulness. The Personal Pro plan will bump up the storage to 100GB and increase the file upload limit to 5GB, for €12 a month. There is also a range of business plans from €6 per month for start plans up to Enterprise users at €42 per user per month. The higher level business plans also integrate with services such as Microsoft 365 and G Suite, and have unlimited storage.

WeTransfer

An easy way to transfer files rather than cloud storage, WeTransfer allows you to share files of up to 2GB free of charge. You upload the files to your account, the service generates a link and you can send that on to your intended recipient. The only problem is that it doesn’t include storage, so the link will only work for seven days.

The extra features are worth paying for. WeTransfer Pro costs €12 a month, and not only does it bump up the size of your transfers to 20GB, you get 1TB of storage and you get to decide when the link you share expires.

CLOUD TIPS:

Clear it out: It’s a good idea to clear out your files regularly, or else they can pile up quickly and become unmanageable. And don’t forget to empty your deleted items folder, if it exists.

Only back up what's necessary If you are using your cloud storage to back up your devices, you can pick and choose what you want included in that back-up. While it may be handy to keep a copy of the data and settings for every app on your phone, just in case, it's not necessary. Decide what is crucial and only back that up, saving you space, time and potentially money.

Secure it: Two factor authentication, strong passwords and log-in alters where possible – these are all tools that can help you keep your files secure. Also, be wary of allowing third-party apps access to your account.