For years, a shrinking list of tech giants has quietly guarded every part of our digital lives and the data that defines it. Everything from photo albums and tax records to work files lives on servers controlled by Google, Microsoft, or Apple – and it is super convenient, as they are often baked right into the operating system. However, the convenience comes with a price – not only do the corporations have a history of abusing their privileged position by raising prices, banning accounts, or limiting features, but the data on their servers is, by default, never truly private.
You should consider leaving mainstream services and storing your data elsewhere, as there are numerous privacy-focused and cheaper independent alternatives that offer greater control and convenience. Let’s look at what the best cloud storage services are, both in terms of security and overall value.
Why Consider Alternatives to Big Tech?
The single most prominent reason for considering an alternative to Google, Apple, Microsoft, or Amazon is zero-knowledge security.
Traditional encryption methods involve your data being scrambled on the service’s servers, which makes it inaccessible to outside attackers. However, because the servers belong to the company, it can theoretically look at your data whenever it wants. On the other hand, “zero knowledge” means that the files are encrypted on your device before being uploaded, and only you can view them. Therefore, someone would have to physically break into your PC or phone to find your data as it exists on the servers, as the files would be just a jumble of unreadable text as far as the service provider is concerned.
Moreover, independent providers often offer significantly better value for your money and more flexibility than you may be used to at Big Tech.
For example, the ability to pay once and permanently while on a “lifetime subscription” is much more appealing for some people than the constant yearly payments. Let’s take a closer look at the most interesting options, starting with the most feature-complete rival to mainstream file hosting.
Proton Drive: The Best Option for Zero-Knowledge Security
Proton Drive is a file storage service from the creators of ProtonMail, which promises top-notch privacy. Their servers are located in Switzerland, which has some of the strictest data protection laws in the world, and their apps have a great track record of transparency and privacy. Proton Drive’s interface mirrors many of the most convenient features that you would find in consumer-grade file storage products, such as automatic camera roll backup and offline access. Like most privacy-oriented services, all of your data is protected with military-grade, open-source encryption. While it lacks some of the more advanced collaboration features from mainstream providers, Proton Drive is perfect for individuals who want to keep documents, medical records, and other sensitive data on a private server.
pCloud: The Best Value Option by a Large Margin
The next logical step is to start looking at services that offer a better value than the tech giants. In this category, you have a list of smaller independent companies that sell their services at a steeper discount, have lifetime deals, or even allow you to purchase storage space outright. The best value option you can consider right now is the Swiss-based pCloud, which offers some truly astonishing “lifetime” plans that grant you a gigabyte or 10 terabytes of space for a single payment. Compared to regular yearly billing, this is an immense value, and many customers report that the price difference was an important factor in weighing between pCloud and more established competitors. pCloud has a more conventional file hoster interface that closely resembles an external hard drive. The lack of clutter helps, as the company does not use your local storage by default unless you set specific folders to “offline.” The application also has some nice touches regarding media management, such as built-in video and music playback options. With their optional zero-knowledge encryption, pCloud can be an excellent choice for people who value privacy and post lots of media on the web. If you are looking for a more tech-focused experience, you can check out some of the other alternatives below.
Additional Alternatives Worth Considering
Some users do not simply want to keep their data private, secure, or offer more value for their subscription. For file storage, there are two broad use cases besides regular backups: advanced collaboration features and full data control. First, if you are in the business of sharing large files and want to keep your clients, vendors, and staff on a single domain with you while preserving privacy, you should try Sync.com.
It is a Canadian company that is especially focused on business users, which means their file sharing and collaboration tools are considerably more advanced than at privacy-focused rivals. Sync’s zero-knowledge tools are exceptionally convenient, as links you share with others can have passwords, expiration dates, and download limits, and its collaboration features are also encrypted to protect data integrity.
Nextcloud: Self-Hosting the Best Option for Full Control Over Your Data
The most extreme case of wanting full control and privacy is self-hosting, and the most popular tool for this particular approach is Nextcloud, an open-source self-hosted productivity suite. Nextcloud is free to use, but you will need to set it up somewhere, which can be an old computer, a Raspberry Pi, or even a dedicated server if you are willing to pay for better performance and reliability. The biggest perk of using this approach is that you do not have to trust another company with your data, as it resides on your computer or server. Moreover, Nextcloud has an entire suite of productivity apps that can be used in tandem with the core file storage component. These range from private chatting and calendar management to more traditional productivity applications such as task lists and office suites. This approach is arguably the most technically complex one, but it provides unparalleled levels of freedom.
How to Actually Make the Switch to an Alternative Provider?
When you begin the switch, it is paramount to be methodical to avoid losing data. First of all, you should spend about an hour cleaning up your old file storage, deleting caches, old programs, temporary files, and any other digital garbage. There is no point in paying to upload it somewhere else. Then, consider using third-party tools to transfer large chunks of data at once, as it can be extremely time-consuming to download and then upload everything via your home internet connection. MultCloud is one such application that can directly access your data on both providers and migrate it without additional hassle. However, you may want to use the built-in transfer tools that some companies offer (such as pCloud’s third-party backup tools).
If you are migrating from Google or Apple, it is a good idea to use their official takeout tools to migrate your data to another service. This would allow you to receive a backup of everything as a single archive, which is much easier to handle. Lastly, you can keep your old account open for a few weeks after transferring your data to the new provider to give the migration process some breathing room and update any shared links.
While Big Tech may dominate the cloud storage marketplace, it is worth migrating away from it to protect your privacy and save money. The alternatives may lack some features, but they offer greater value, convenience, and security. You can either choose something as simple as Proton Drive to keep your private files safe or go all the way with Nextcloud to become fully self-hosted. Either way, your data is much safer in independent hands, not walled off in proprietary ecosystems. Let’s keep the discussion going in the comments section below – what cloud storage options have you tried, and what did you think of them?