The recent spread of cloud storage services resulted from the increase in the number of computers around the world, and the adoption of billions of people on them for basic and recreational functions.
This leads to a huge number of files, not only for companies that rely on computers, but also for individuals who use it at a high rate in their daily tasks, which often results in more files than can sometimes be accommodated.
So companies have appeared that provide cloud storage services, through which you can store your files on another computer, and access these files from anywhere in the world.
Whether your goal in storing your files is to save them from loss, share them easily with other people, or even because there is not enough space on your hard disk to store them, you can rely on several services that provide cloud storage space, and help you achieve most of the previous purposes for free.
In this article, we will show you the best cloud storage services that offer free storage space.
But before getting to know the best cloud storage services, we must first learn and understand the idea of cloud storage, and learn about its advantages.
What is cloud storage?
The term cloud storage or cloud storage means storing files on the cloud for the purpose of remote management or access, and the cloud or the cloud is a common term in the world of information technology.
It means a group of computers on which files are stored, through hard disks inside these devices owned by companies that provide these services.
The reason for calling the service the cloud (cloud storage) is due to several reasons, but the most important of them is the similarity of the electronic cloud with the natural cloud, where the latter consists of several condensed particles of water, but it looks from afar as a single mass, and with the same idea the storage cloud is formed,
As it consists of several computers working within a huge network, but to the user it looks like one computer.
For example, when you use the storage space provided by a cloud storage service such as Google Drive or Dropbox, the files appear to you as if they are stored on one hard disk or on one computer.
But in reality, this is not necessarily the case, because the cloud service provider may split your files among several computers that share resources among themselves, but it shows them to you in a similar way as your files appear on your personal computer for ease of management and control.
Note: Most cloud storage companies use hard drives to store their customers' files, due to several factors; The main one is that hard drives are less expensive than hard disks or Solid Stated Drives (SSDs).
But the latter is faster, so it is widely used in storing website files and hosting services, which are also considered among the cloud services.
What are cloud storage services?
Cloud storage service companies began providing this service in the early nineties of the last century, and it was almost exclusively for companies, institutions and universities, as these entities deal daily in a huge number of important data, and need to protect it from risks such as corruption or tampering.
As for the current form of cloud storage that we know, it began to emerge recently, specifically with the announcement by Amazon of the creation of the Amazon Web Service (AWS).
It was followed by similar services provided by huge companies in the technical field, such as IBM, Google, Apple and others, until we reached the current form of these services.
Cloud storage features
Well, perhaps through the previous paragraphs, you have learned about the advantages of cloud storage for large companies and establishments, but you may wonder about the advantages of this service for you as an individual in saving your important photos or files with many alternatives that can be directed to.
Therefore, here are the most important advantages of cloud storage:
Access your files from anywhere in the world.
Access your files through several different devices such as your mobile PC and sometimes your smart TV.
You don't need to go through complicated technical steps to create your storage space.
Avoid the idea that stored files will get corrupted even if the hard drive is damaged, because companies always make backup copies.
File encryption and the level of protection that this service provides for your files, to ensure that no one can access them without your consent, and by implementing specific procedures.
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Best Free Cloud Storage Services
The focus here is on the word free, because most cloud storage providers offer different price plans, which start with a price plan that offers limited space with some restrictions on it, and this plan is usually free.
Then it offers other plans that gradually increase in the offered space and price with the addition of different features for each plan.
Although free price plans are available with almost all cloud storage service providers, these plans differ from one provider to another in their features and the space they provide to the user.
And in the next part of the article we will help you figure out the best provider that offers the most storage space (which is what we're all looking for) with the fewest restrictions possible.
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The following cloud storage providers are ranked in descending order based on which one offers the most free storage space and who follows.
1. Degoo
Digo offers you 100 GB of cloud storage space for free, and in addition to this huge space, which distinguishes Digo from all other free services, Digo offers several other advantages that cannot be ignored.
Advantages:
There are no limits to downloading or viewing files from your personal space on Digo.
Strong encryption of files as they are transferred to and from your storage.
Watching ads gives you extra storage space that will be added to your account after a short period of time watching ads.
Defects:
The size of the uploaded files cannot exceed 512MB per file .
The number of devices you can upload your files to is only three.
If there is no activity on the account for 90 days, it will be deleted.
Advertisements appearing while interacting with the Service.
2. Google Drive
A well-known service that gives you 15 GB for free and contains many advantages.
Advantages:
Integration with a huge number of Google products such as Google photos, through which you can save the image on your phone and manage it on Google Drive.
Integration with many non-Google applications such as Whatsapp and others.
Comprehensive protection for your files provided by Google.
Fast servers, which facilitates the process of uploading and downloading files.
The ability to share your files with a large number of people, and control the powers that you would like to give each of them to control and manage your files.
Defects:
The cloud storage space offered by the service is relatively small.
The storage space is shared between several applications such as Gmail and Google Photos, which leads to its speedy use.
There is no free way by which you can increase your storage space.
3. Mega
The benefits of the free Mega plan fascinate you at first sight, some of which we will mention to name a few.
Advantages:
15 GB storage space.
A powerful security system that generates a cryptographic key for you, to help you gain access to your account in case you lose your password.
The possibility of increasing the free storage space to reach 95 GB, by performing simple tasks such as installing the service program on your computer.
A smooth user interface with many features, such as the ability to create and manage a list of your friends who have accepted your invitation to use the Service.
A referral program that you can earn through when one of your friends subscribes to one of the paid plans for the service through you.
The ability to share files with other people that you select yourself or share them publicly.
Defects:
Mega is promoting their free cloud storage plan as offering the user 50GB for free that's right, but they don't make it clear that only 15GB is the permanent space while 35GB is the sign-up bonus, which expires after 30 days to reduce the space to only 15GB, which is dangerous if You have used more than 15 GB of space to store your files.
Unlike some other cloud storage services, the extra storage you get by performing other tasks expires after a certain period ranging from 30 days to 365 days.
The service does not offer the feature of integration with other applications such as Google Drive integration with Whatsapp.
The additional space that you get from performing tasks is not added to your account immediately, and may take several days to add.
4. Icedrive
A relatively new service provider in the cloud storage space, but it managed to attract a good number of users.
Advantages:
It offers 10 GB of free space.
The service's computer and mobile applications are easy to use and simple.
The service provides a portable application that is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac systems.
Upload files to your storage and manage them easily, thanks to the smooth user interface offered by the service.
Defects:
It does not provide Two Factor Authentication to secure your access to your account.
The service does not allow you to upload files larger than 3 GB per day.
Does not support FTP and SFTP file transfer protocols.
Low file upload speed.
It is true that the user interface provided by this service is smooth, but it is primitive and provides only the basic functions.
5. PCloud
A new cloud storage provider that offers a plethora of advantages in its free plan, but it's not without drawbacks that leave you at a loss to make a final decision.
Advantages:
The ability to recover files after deleting them, as deleted files remain in the recycle bin for 15 days in the free plan.
Creating a new account does not take more than a minute thanks to the support of registration through Google, Facebook or Apple accounts.
An organized user interface divided into categories, such as a category for audio files and a category for files shared with other people.
A referral system through which you can earn by inviting your friends, and the minimum profit starts from $ 5 without a maximum.
You can earn an additional 1 GB of space for each friend you invite to subscribe to the Service (Free Subscription), up to a maximum of 10 GB.
The more you invite your friends, the higher your chance of winning a raffle offered by the service to get an additional 500 GB free space.
The ability to upload files remotely, by adding a link to the file, and the service will download it and upload it to your internal space.
It has an excellent multimedia player for watching videos, listening to music files uploaded to your storage space without having to download them.
The service provides its own browser add-ons to help you upload and download files from several sites.
Defects:
The service is directed primarily to the European Union and the United States of America, meaning that it has not expanded to become a global service yet, which may affect the ability to provide support to Arab users.
The service does not provide a two-factor authentication system to secure your access to your account.
There is no file encryption service in your free storage, and if you want to add it you will have to pay $3.99 per month.
The service does not support the ability to modify written files such as Word files, or that contain data such as Excel, as the service allows you to view them only, unlike the Google Drive service, which enables you to modify these files without the need to download them.
6. Box
Box's main approach was to serve companies and organizations that need storage space, but it also offers storage space plans for individuals, and among these plans there is a completely free plan that offers acceptable features, but it is not without restrictions, of course, being free.
Advantages:
10 GB free storage space.
The service is compatible with some Google and Microsoft applications, so you can open your Word files with one of the programs of the two companies, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
The service provides its own applications on Windows and Mac.
Acceptable speed for uploading and downloading files.
The service offers a modest media player that enables you to listen to music files and videos.
Defects:
The free plan does not allow uploading files larger than 250MB per file.
There are not any free ways to increase your storage space.
The service does not provide applications for Linux.
The service offers a bare-bones level of protection for your storage on the free plan.
7. MediaFire
Whoever has dealt with the Internet for ten years knows Mediafire as an excellent platform for uploading and downloading files in terms of speed and efficiency, but of course it does not give you all its features in the free cloud storage plan that it offers.
Advantages:
You can increase your free storage space up to 39 GB for free, by inviting your friends to register through your referral link.
The speed of downloading files from Mediafire is very high even while you are using the service for free.
Support login through Twitter or Facebook.
The ability to share files either through a special link, or by sharing them directly on Facebook and Twitter.
Defects:
The service does not provide any program for uploading files or downloading them through your computer. Rather, all file management operations are done through the browser, or you can rely on the service's mobile application.
Mediafire does not allow you to view files within storage space, which means that if you want to open a file, you must download it to your device to view it.
There is no download interface assigned to you, meaning that (according to point #2) when you want to upload your file, you go to another upload page, as if you are downloading a file that someone else has uploaded.
The download page has a huge number of ads.
The file protection system that Mediafire provides you with in the free plan is very simple if not weak, and we can not consider it a file protection system.
8. OneDrive
Have you noticed that blue icon that appears in the taskbar after installing a new Windows system? Yes, this is the software of the popular cloud storage service Onedrive.
If you are in a hurry to remove it before trying it then wait, because we have some features that can change your mind about Onedrive, one of the premium products offered by the famous Microsoft.
Advantages:
It is compatible with the popular Office 365 program, which makes it ideal for users of this program, as you can upload your Word and Excel files, and work with them easily from anywhere.
You do not need to download its software if you are using the Windows 10 operating system, as it is included in the pre-installed programs in the system.
The free storage space offered by Onedrive is 5 GB.
The service provides you with an area that is protected with high encryption, and a high level of security to protect some files called Personal Vault.
Defects:
The service supports Windows 10 and Android operating systems only, and is not available on Linux and Mac systems.
There are no ways to increase your storage other than by going with one of the paid plans.
The available storage space is 5 GB which is a small amount of storage space, especially since we were expecting that a company as big as Microsoft could offer more space.
Unlike the protection provided in the Personal Vault feature, the level of protection provided by the service to protect the rest of the files is rather weak.
Conclusion
There are, of course, other good services that we did not mention, either because they do not provide the advantages available in the services we discussed in this article.
Or, for the most important reason, that their free plans give the user a little storage space, ranging in size from 1 to 2 GB like Dropbox, which was accepted several years ago.
But in recent years, and with the development of technologies for saving and processing files, the size of many files has increased. In photography, for example, the size of a few high-quality images can reach 500 megabytes.
That is, it may occupy half of the space provided by these services, which makes these services unsuitable for the average user at the present time.
In my personal opinion, the services are all excellent, and you always have a large number of options, between a service provider that offers you a large storage space with ads, as is the case with Digo, and another that offers you a medium space with compatibility with other applications, such as Google Drive.
It is also important to know that most of these services change their advantages and disadvantages from time to time, because they are subject to updates all the time to increase their efficiency and improve their performance.
So if you are looking for the best service that suits you, you will have to try one of these service providers yourself, this will help you choose the one that suits you best.
Do you use any of the cloud providers we mentioned in this article? In your opinion, is the storage plan only reliable or is it necessary to upgrade to a paid plan at some point? We would love to know your opinion in the comments.
