You might well already use cloud storage, but if you don’t it’s time you started, as you can free up space, back your content up and take more advantage of the high data allowances Three offers all in one.
Below we’ll explain exactly what the cloud and cloud storage is, what you might want to use it for and what some of the best cloud storage providers are, so whether you’re completely new to it or are just looking for new cloud storage suggestions we’ve got you covered.
The cloud is essentially the internet, but when we talk about storing something in the cloud what that means is uploading it somewhere, so you can access it from anything with an internet connection.
You could think of it like an external hard drive that’s wirelessly accessible from anywhere in the world.
And there’s a good chance you’re already using it even if you don’t realise it. For example, if you’re a Three customer with Go Binge, chances are you use a lot of Snapchat, and all your Memories on that are saved to Snapchat’s cloud storage system.
While if you use Kindle or other eBook software then chances are your books are stored in the cloud so that they’re accessible from other devices.
There are lots of potential benefits to the cloud, but the three main ones are the ability to back up your data, easy access to your data, and the ability to free up space.
Starting with the first of those, ‘cloud storage’ is a storage system which lets you back up pictures, videos, music, documents and potentially any other type of file.
Some cloud storage systems support all file types while others focus on one or two. You can find examples of good cloud storage providers below, but it’s worth backing up anything important in the cloud, even if you have it saved on your phone or computer, because that way if anything happens to your device you can still access your data.
You can even store device backups in the cloud, so it’s easy to restore all your contacts, messages and the like if you change phones.
Which brings us to the second main point – because you can access cloud storage anywhere with an internet connection, on a phone, tablet or computer, it makes getting at your content very easy. There’s no need to carry it around on a USB stick, it’s always just accessible from whatever device you happen to be using.
Many cloud storage providers also make it easy to share your content with others if you want to.
Finally, having files saved in the cloud means it’s safe to delete them from local storage, potentially freeing up lots of space on your phone or other device in the process.
For anything very important we’d still recommend either keeping a local copy or backing it up to multiple cloud storage services, but things like pictures, videos and music can take up a lot of space on your phone, so moving them to the cloud can make a world of difference.
Three is one of very few networks that offers plans with unlimited data, as well as offering other very high limit plans, such as 100GB, and taking full advantage of the cloud can use a fair bit of data – something you won’t have to worry about on these plans.
If you have a lot of digital content then uploading it to the cloud and then downloading, streaming or accessing it again can use a lot of data, which is something you’d have to factor in with lower allowances, potentially sticking to Wi-Fi use if you were planning to upload or download big files.
But on high data allowance Three plans you’re free to use the cloud in full wherever and whenever. Want to upload your entire photo library on the bus? You can. Want to download an album or film while on a walk? That’s fine too. Just watch where you’re going.
This makes it much more viable to get away with a device with a small storage capacity. And while microSD cards are often an option, not all phones support them, and they’re typically slower and less reliable than built-in storage.
If you’re on a Three plan with Go Binge then you also have access to unrestricted streaming on certain music and video services, which should mean there’s less need to have your own copies of movies, shows and songs anyway, but coupled with a high data allowance and liberal use of cloud storage there really shouldn’t be much need to have anything other than apps stored on your phone.
And of course if you’re on a Three Advanced Plan you can also tether, using your phone’s internet connection to get other devices online, and once you’ve done that you’ll easily be able to access all your files on all of them if they’re in the cloud.
The only real downside is that you do need an internet connection to access anything you’ve stored in the cloud. And larger files could take a few minutes to download, so it’s not a totally seamless experience.
Note also that while your data should generally be safe in the cloud, it can still be lost if the server that’s storing it dies, and it is vulnerable to hacking (though most reputable providers have lots of security in place against that).
The upshot though is that for very sensitive content you should look for the most secure options if you’re going to use the cloud at all, while for anything that you can’t risk losing you should keep more than one copy of it, but that’s true whether you use the cloud or not.
The exact process varies based on which cloud service you opt for, but typically you create an account then select what data you want to back up.
After that you can access it at any time from your account and add more data as and when you choose to. If you’re trying to access your data from another device, you’ll just need to log in to your account on it.
There are many, many cloud storage options available, but below we’ve highlighted some of the best and most popular options, all of which work well on mobile.
Dropbox is a big name in cloud storage and it gives you 2GB of storage for free as well as offering decent apps for both iOS and Android. It also offers 256-bit AES and SSL/TLS encryption and makes it easy to share files and folders with others.
It’s a good option if you don’t need to store much, but for larger storage amounts you quickly need to pay, with a mammoth 1TB costing £7.99 per month.
Google Drive is similar to Dropbox in what it offers, but it starts you out with 15GB for free, so you’re less likely to have to pay. And if you do upgrade plans start at just £1.59 per month (for which you get 100GB), so you’ve got more options.
Separate to Google Drive there’s Google Photos, which is just for photos and videos, but offers unlimited free uploads in high quality and can be set to automatically upload photos as you take them on your phone, so it’s a slick, seamless way to ensure all your shots are backed up.
If you have an iOS device then you’re probably already using iCloud, but if not, you should be, as it offers an easy way to back up all of your iPhone or iPad’s settings and content, including contacts, photos and more.
It also includes iCloud Drive, which is a more conventional cloud storage service for documents and the like. However, as it doesn’t properly support Android it’s less versatile than some options.
You get 5GB of storage for free, with paid plans starting at £0.79 per month for 50GB.
OneDrive is Microsoft’s take on cloud storage and it allows you store just about anything online, similar to Dropbox or Google Drive. It’s also fully accessible from most smart devices.
Free storage is limited to 5GB, but if you need to use a lot OneDrive can be good value, as for £7.99 per month or £79.99 per year you can get Office 365 Home, which not only gets you 5TB of OneDrive storage, but also access to Microsoft’s powerful Office 365 office software, which you can install on five devices.
Like Google Photos, Evernote is another more specialised service, but where that focuses on photos, Evernote focuses on notes, as well as lists.
So if you write them in Evernote they’ll automatically be saved to the cloud, so you can access them from other devices. For free you can sync content across two devices, but if you want to access it on more you’ll have to upgrade, with plans starting at £2.50 per month.
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