That’s not to say it’s basic, as Drive has useful features such as sharing links to folders (while setting the level of control the recipient has), accessing a file even if it’s opened on another device, plus apps for PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. This can be used to back up documents, photos, videos, and anything else you want to keep safe.ĭrive’s interface is simple, clean, and takes about two minutes to master. If you have a Google account then you already have 15GB of free storage available to you in Google Drive. Not all cloud storage services offer the same set of features and not all offer the same level of security for your files. That means you don’t have to attach those files to an email, and you can share much larger files than email can handle – which is ideal for sharing videos in particular.Ĭloud storage also means you don’t have to worry about running out of space or losing files: you can just pay for more storage when you need it and the provider – Google, Microsoft, Apple, Dropbox or whomever you choose – is responsible for keeping your files safe and secure. It’s easy to overlook these factors when choosing.Īll cloud storage lets you send a link to friends, family or colleagues so they can access specific files or folders. Plus, can you open and view files, photos and listen to music in the cloud storage provider’s own app, or do you have to download them to your device first? It isn’t so easy if the files are stored in Google Drive or somewhere else. And that means it’s easy to save files to OneDrive, and work on files already stored there. If you use Microsoft Office, for example, Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage is baked in. That’s convenient for storing and sharing your photos, videos, Word documents, MP3s and more, but it’s how you can interact with those files that’s important. That’s because it isn’t simply down to the amount of storage offered for a certain price.Īt a basic level, cloud is simply a hard drive on the internet. Of course, the ‘best’ may be different for different people.

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