Backing up your digital photos is a must. There are many ways to do this, but the best way is to use cloud storage. Cloud storage is a great way to store your files. It’s also a great way to backup your photos because it’s completely automatic and can be done from anywhere.
When you’re looking for a way to store your digital photos, the choices can seem overwhelming. You have so many options — external hard drives, flash drives, CDs and DVDs, even cloud storage. Which one is right for you?
The answer depends on how many photos you have and how often you want to access them. If all your photos are stored on one computer (or in one place), then an external hard drive may be enough. But if you want to access your photos from multiple computers or mobile devices, then cloud storage may be the better choice.
Cloud storage works by storing your files online and accessing them over the Internet. The most popular services use Dropbox as their base platform but also offer other services such as Google Drive and OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive). These services allow users to upload their photos from any device and sync them across devices automatically when connected to the Internet. This makes it possible to view any file that is stored in the cloud from any device with an Internet connection.
If you’re still not sure if cloud storage is right for you, consider these benefits:
It’s easy to use.
Cloud storage services like Google Drive and Dropbox are designed to be easy to use, so backing up your photos should be simple as well. Most of these services let you upload files directly from your desktop or mobile device, so there’s no need to go through complicated steps or worry about compatibility issues with different types of devices.
You can access your files anywhere — even if it’s not on your computer or smartphone.
Cloud storage allows you to access all of your files from any device with an Internet connection — even if they aren’t on the same network as where they were originally stored (like at home). This means that even if you’re traveling and don’t have access to certain files on your computer or smartphone (for example), you can still access them using another device that does have an Internet connection somewhere else in the world.
Convenience
If your computer crashes or is stolen, your data will still be safe because it’s stored in multiple locations (multiple servers). This means that no matter what happens — even if one server goes down — all your photos will remain intact on at least one other server.
Cost savings
Cloud storage services are dirt cheap compared with traditional storage methods like external hard drives and DVDs (which can easily cost hundreds of dollars per year).
Cloud storage will cost you money, but how much depends on how much space you need and how often you access your files. If all you want is an offsite backup of your photos and documents, then the subscription costs won’t be too high. For example, Google Drive offers 15GB of free storage. But if you’re storing video files or other large files that take up a lot of space, then the monthly fee can increase significantly.
Availability/accessibility.
Many cloud services have features that allow users to access their files from anywhere at any time — for example, mobile apps that allow users to access their files from smartphones or tablets even when they’re away from home (or work).
You don’t have to worry about buying extra hardware or upgrading your computer’s existing hardware as often because cloud servers can scale with need and cost much less than traditional hard drives.
You only pay for what you use
there’s no long-term commitment or hidden fees with cloud storage providers like Dropbox or Google Drive (and others).
There are some drawbacks to cloud storage:
- It’s expensive
- You lose complete control over your data
- Not everyone has easy access to the internet, so you have to sign up for a cloud storage account, which might require a credit card
- You may lose the ability to add new pictures
- Some people worry about having sensitive information stored in the cloud — particularly financial data such as credit card numbers or Social Security numbers — because they think it could be vulnerable.
- The most obvious drawback is that if you lose Internet access, you can’t access your files. If your home or office has no broadband connection, cloud storage isn’t an option for backing up your photos.
- Another drawback is that if someone steals your password, they can get into all of the other cloud services you use. This means that if you use Google Docs and Dropbox, someone who knows your password could get into both accounts using one login — and then copy all of your stuff from Dropbox into his own account on Google Docs!