How I Use Online Storage

Here is how I use online storage options ( your choices may be different)

There are free and paid versions of most online storage services. You can simplify your life, if you pay more, by using one service primarily for all your storage and pay for the highest amount of space you can afford. However, for me, money is a major factor in my choices, so I try to find a way to maximize my storage at minimal cost.

iCloud

I pay $1.50 or so per month for the first paid tier of iCloud storage, and I use it exclusively for backing up my Apple devices. I don’t do full backups. I find that if  I ever get a newer device I’d rather start fresh and simply restore my notes, contacts, safari bookmarks, calendars, reminders and photos. I pay for the extra space because of photos.

If you prefer to simply restore an old iPad, all settings intact, to a new one, be sure you have enough space to do full backups. iCloud storage plans are reasonably priced in comparison to some other services. 

You can use iCloud backup on your Mac, and you can also get iCloud for Windows and use iCloud Drive to back up folders on your PC, but if sharing files is important, and easy access across all devices, some other services can be simpler.

Dropbox

My all time favorite of all the services is still Dropbox, but for 1TB of space it’s around $99 per year. I would absolutely pay that if I could but for now I use the 2GB free plan and I use it mostly for files I want to share with others.

I find Dropbox’s shared folders options, and easy to use Dropbox links options, nice and easy when I want to share files.

OneDrive

Since I have Office 365, which, to save costs, I share with several other people, I have 1TB of OneDrive space (each person I share with has their own 1TB of space) so even though I still prefer Dropbox in some ways, I use my OneDrive space as my primary storage and backup. When I built up my computer I installed a second hard drive for my personal files, separate from my Windows and Programs Files. I save all documents, photos, videos, music and downloads to that drive and have it automatically back up to OneDrive.

Google Drive

I also have a free plan with Google Drive and I use that to store my e-book collection.

The reason for that is that I share my books with family members so I can give them access to that drive without them having access to any other files.

Their are other services available with free plans out there, like Box and Mozy, but I like Google Drive and I think that it isn’t going away anytime soon.

In summary

for Apple Devices I use iCloud

For sharing features I love Dropbox

For cost purposes I use OneDrive

For a single use option I use Google Drive

I have downloaded apps for all these services on my iPad and can therefore add them all to the files app. I can then access all my stored files in one app. That’s really useful.

Your choices could well be different to mine. This blog post is not so much a recommendation of any particular online storage plan, but more an example of how you can use online storage plans to your own benefit.