Confused by the Cloud? A Quick Guide to Cloud Photo Back-Up
Oct 11, 2024
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Although the word 'Cloud Storage Back Up' conjures up images of your photos flying around somewhere in the sky, it is actually any storage that runs on the internet rather than on your devices or computer. When you upload your data to a Cloud storage service like Dropbox, OneDrive, and Apple's iCloud, they save your files securely on physical servers in data centres they manage, freeing up the storage space on your devices. You can access your files from any device that's connected to the internet, without taking up its physical storage space.
There are numerous benefits of Cloud Storage, from freeing up local storage on your devices (as we've already said) to giving you the flexibility to access your photos and videos anywhere and at any time (with an internet connection). It also provides a secure, off-site back up for your files, as we talked about in the 321 Back-Up Method Blog
Cloud storage for photos is necessary in order to preserve your memories, but many Cloud services also have the added benefit of backing up all your other digital files too, keeping them safe and protected.
Best practise is to use one as your main 'source of truth' - using more than one will end up with your data scattered on different platforms and not organised together. Check out Youtuber Space Rex for some really informative and straightforward advice for getting yourself set up.
There are lots of cloud services available and the chances are you are already using at least one. It is a given these days that online storage is paid for, so beware any that is offered for free as there may be a catch in terms of giving them permission to use your photos! What's best for each person will be different and largely depend on whether you work on PC or Mac and what mobile phone device you have. I currently use a PC only and have an iphone - here are my favourites:
The Best Cloud Services for Photo Storage
OneDrive is run by Microsoft so is auto-installed on most new laptops and PCs as a default. It can also be downloaded as a compatible app on iPhone and Android so you can access the files in your Cloud back-up on any device.
OneDrive is a SYNC back-up, so any changes made on one device will replicate on another - important to remember if you are doing any deleting.
I like the functionality that allows you to store only certain folders on your computer hard drive. If your laptop is short on storage space, this is a great option. One Drive keeps the same file structure as you use in Windows Explorer so it's very intuitive to use and great for using on multiple devices as the structure stays the same.
You get 5GB for free and then there are a variety of annual plans from individual up to 6 users (great for larger families where everyone is taking photos) |  |
iCloud is native to the Apple ecosystem and is found on every iPhone and Mac computer. It will back-up files saved in your iCloud Drive, iCloud Mail and also your Camera roll, as long as you configure it to do so. iCloud gives you a small amount of free storage, but then offers tiered fees dependent on the storage space you need up to a whopping 12TB.
As I use OneDrive as my main Cloud Storage and I'm quite good at backing up my photos (as you'd expect in this profession!), I pay 99p a month for 50GB of iCloud storage to ensure all my photos and videos are safely backed up whilst they're on my device. When I'm organising my photos, I copy them into OneDrive and delete them from iCloud to save space. I can still access all my photos on my phone through the OneDrive app.
If your main computer is a Mac, it may make sense for you to use iCloud as your primary back-up service (remembering this is also a SYNC back-up). If you're on a PC but use an iPhone, ensuring your iCloud is synced and you have paid for the appropriate amount of storage to protect your photos is essential. Too many of us know the main of a smashed and inaccessible phone. With iCloud in place, your photos are safely stored in the cloud ready to be downloaded onto either a new device or a computer. |  |
Dropbox describes itself as a 'virtual filing cabinet' which is a great visual way of thinking about how digital storage works. It works across iOS and Android devices, PCs and Macs, so is truly operating system independent. It is also a SYNC system and works in a very similar way to OneDrive (I was a very happy Dropbox user for many years). For those people who regularly share photos with family members, it has great functionality for creating shared Folders that don't insist that all members have the paid plan and let you share family photos easily
It starts at £7.99 per month for 2TB of storage which is great value plus has added features like a pdf editing tool. |  |
Google Photos has gained a lot of popularity over recent years due to is use of AI to help you search your images for people, places and things. It can detect what is a photo of a document vs recipes vs screenshots which is very handy for deleting unwanted photos. With a huge 15GB of space offered for free (including your Google Drive and Gmail), it also works on iOS and Android and syncs across devices. It's got some great photo editing features for making your pics look tiptop and you can arrange your photos into folders. As part of the Google Ecosystem it also seamlessly integrates with Gmail, Google Docs, etc, which could be an added benefit for many people
There was some concern a few years back about the privacy issues around saving your data with Google. Although this is robustly covered in their security and data policies, I can't help but feel (as do many others) that it's integration with the rest of the Google system might be used to advertise towards you based on the data featured in your files. Some will feel this is a good trade off for the extra features, some may not, and ultimately it's down to personal preference. |  |
