Have you considered moving your precious photos, confidential documents, or entire digital identity into the cloud? Services like Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud and OneDrive sure make it tempting. But should you blithely click “Accept” when prompted or take time to evaluate potential downsides?
This guide will provide an insightful overview of 4 risks to weigh before uploading your data:
- Data breaches from lax security
- Privacy violations through extensive tracking
- Loss of access from unexpected downtime
- Ongoing costs compared to one-time purchases
First, let’s briefly unpack the cloud itself before highlighting why you may want to steer clear for particular use cases.
What is Cloud Storage?
Cloud storage offers online data backup by renting space in remote data centers. Top providers like DropBox, Google and Microsoft let you access saved files anytime on any internet-connected device.
It brings undisputed conveniences for easily retrieving documents without carrying USB sticks. Cloud platforms also enable seamless collaboration by letting multiple people edit shared folders.
However, this flexibility comes at the cost of control, security guarantees, and privacy. Once you click upload, the safety of those baby photos or tax documents depends on the reliability of companies like Amazon, Apple or Dropbox.
And as covered below, even tech titans cannot protect against every hack, outage or terms of service change impacting your data. So while embracing the cloud does offer rewards through accessibility, you must weigh if the risks match your risk tolerance.
4 Reasons You May Want to Avoid the Cloud
Before backing up your data Lake into Someone Else’s cloud, consider these scenarios:
| Risks | Potential Impacts |
|---|---|
| 1. Security Breaches | Sensitive customer data like SSNs exposed by hackers on the dark web |
| 2. Privacy Violations | Cloud providers scanning confidential therapy session notes to improve ad targeting |
| 3. Loss of Data Access | Entire workflows interrupted for remote teams during cloud service outage |
| 4. Long-term Expenses | Unlimited backup for decades of family photos costing thousands in recurring subscription fees |
Depending on your appetite for the above unfortunate outcomes, viable alternatives do exist beyond cloud storage like external hard drives or NAS devices. While less convenient potentially, they provide offline control, saves money long-term in many cases and reduce the risks.
Now let’s explore those four factors in detail to determine if avoiding consumer cloud services suits your needs.
Reason 1: Data Security Not Fully Reliable
You’ve likely heard about password leaks, email hacks and denial-of-service attacks in the news. Cyber threats are on the rise globally, increasing 68% from 2020 to 2021 per FBI statistics. Government agencies, banks, retailers and cloud providers themselves remain vulnerable.
So while Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and other storage platforms utilize encryption and enterprise-grade security, gaps still persist. Handing over your business plans or diary entries to these companies cannot guarantee CIA-level protection. Their servers face risks from both external hacking and insider threats.
Consider the following eye-opening cloud security statistics before rushing to click Upload:
- 5,212 companies suffered data breaches in 2021, exposing over 800 million records (Verizon 2022 DBIR)
- 82% of hacks involved stolen passwords or phishing rather than sophisticated technical exploits (Verizon 2022 DBIR)
- 19% of employees admit accessing encrypted data without authorization (Thales 2022 Access Management Index)
- Just 33% of IT professionals are completely confident in public cloud security (Fugue State of Cloud Security 2022)
This translates into hundreds of real-world cloud provider breaches littered across the headlines:
| Provider | Breach Description | Records Exposed | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dropbox | 68 million email addresses and encrypted passwords stolen by hackers | 68 million | 2012 |
| OneDrive | Phishing campaign accessed over 3000 consumer cloud accounts | 3,000+ | 2020 |
| iCloud | Celeb accounts including Jennifer Lawrence hacked via password guessing and security question phishing | Hundreds | 2014 |
| Google Drive | Targeted malware impacting New York university, spammed links to steal credentials | Unknown | 2017 |
So while Dropbox improved security after its 2012 wake-up call, many other consumer-focused providers still operate on slimmer resources than enterprise cloud vendors. This leaves your data potentially vulnerable to lax configurations, password leaks or social engineering hacks.
If keeping personal information completely confidential remains imperative, consider an alternate solution not perpetually connected online. Services like Sync or Tresorit do provide specialized encryption options as a middle-ground. But evaluating risks and implementing additional safeguards like MFA and strong master passwords on your end remains vital for cloud usage.
Reason 2: Extensive Tracking & Data Sharing
Beyond external hacking threats, legal backdoor access also exists for various agencies to collect cloud data without consent. While justified arguably for investigative purposes, ethical questions abound regarding the level of visibility even paid services provide into your personal information.
Let‘s examine what popular storage platforms openly admit to compiling based on their privacy policies and terms:
Google Drive Data Collection
- Contents of all uploaded files
- Apps and extensions used
- Device make, model and operating system
- Precise location history
Apple iCloud Data Collection
- Apps you use including usage times and metadata
- iCloud backup contents like notes, messages and photos
- Device diagnostics and crash logs
- Locations tagged in images
Microsoft OneDrive Data Collection
- Files you preview, access and share
- File content for malware analysis
- Web browsing and search history
- Device performance, errors and network data
In all cases, while data gets aggregated for internal analytics, it could also end up in the wrong hands during a breach. And with over 4 billion records being stolen in 2021, no cloud provider remains immune regardless of security posture.
For example, Google received scrutiny in early 2022 when the media discovered their Nest cameras allowed Google Photos access to users‘ video history against expectations. So even intra-company data sharing occurs behind the scenes, highlighting why reading those thousand-word ToS agreements remains critical.
If you prefer keeping documentation or media 100% private, external encrypted hard drives provide that assurance and peace of mind.
Reason 3: Expect Occasional Data Access Disruption
Cloud storage uptime exceeds 99.9% for most quality providers today, enabling reliable constant access that traditionally lacked with external hard drives. However, while exceptional, service interruptions persisting hours or days do transpire even on top-tier cloud platforms.
The causes might range from natural disasters destroying regional data centers to server firmware bugs to submarine cable cuts. And while each incident seems improbable individually, together they ensure every major provider experiences multiple annual outages to some extent.
Let‘s examine high-profile cloud failures that left users stranded without access in recent years:
| Provider | Outage Details | Date | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud | Global disruption impacting Compute Engine, Drive, Docs and BigQuery | Aug 19, 2021 | Over 4 hours |
| Microsoft Azure | Multi-region authentication failure interrupting Office 365 access | Sept 28, 2021 | Around 3 hours |
| AWS US-East | Knocked major websites like Amazon, Doordash and Pinterest offline | Dec 7, 2021 | 7+ hours |
| Cloudflare CDN | Complete global outage slowing sites and apps everywhere | June 21, 2022 | 27 minutes |
According to monitoring firm ThousandEyes, the average cloud provider suffers 8 different outages per month. So while availability exceeds 99.9% theoretically, real-life reliability remains imperfect if you require nonstop data access.
The consequences of cloud failures range from minor inconveniences to catastrophic depending on circumstance:
- Legal Firm – Missed case file deadlines after emergency Azure outage
- Marketing Agency – Launch delay losing thousands over 3+ hour Google Cloud/Slack disruption
- Non-profit Fundraiser – Last-minute cancellation when Dropbox blocked slide deck access
Even consumers face frequent activity obstruction:
- Family Trip – Unable to share vacation photos offline on poor cottage Wi-Fi
- Movie Watcher – Netflix buffering endlessly during Amazon Web Services failure
- New Laptop User – Locked out from syncing work documents while iCloud suffered login bugs
So while beneficial for ubiquity, outsourcing your storage cannot guarantee 24/7 reliability when mission-critical. Evaluate your tolerance to disruption before sending your only copies of precious memories or creative works exclusively into the cloud.
Reason 4: Cumulative Costs May Exceed Alternatives
Finally, upon realizing 2GB won’t cut it for storing your decades of family photos or ever-growing client work files, cloud expenses stack up enormously over time. These easily surpass large one-time external hard drive investments diligent consumers can make.
Let’s compare unlimited monthly plans against higher-capacity offline alternatives:
| Service | Storage | 1 Month | 1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google One | Unlimited | $9.99 | $149.88 | $749.40 | $1,498.80 |
| Dropbox Plus | Unlimited | $11.99 | $167.88 | $839.40 | $1,678.80 |
| IDrive Personal | Unlimited | $69.50 | $834 | $4,170 | $8,340 |
| Sync Lifetime | Unlimited | $129 (one-time) | |||
| 8TB External HDD | 8 TB | $139 (one-time) |
You‘ll notice unlimited cloud storage over a decade costs over $1000 in most cases. That matches the approximate lifespan storage capacity of a robust 8TB external hard drive back in 2023. Except that $139 single purchase gives you 1TB more space than the equivalent long-term cloud subscription fees.
So if simply seeking reliable backup without needing mobile access, lone external HDDs provide far more affordable solutions. RAID drive arrays for redundancy or networked NAS allow scaling storage substantially without recurring monthly costs too. Long-term TCO favors offline options.
And for total reliability against remote tampering, you can encrypt external drives easily with VeraCrypt or Bitlocker before disconnecting. This rivals cloud security fully while avoiding the privacy, downtime and continual spending worries unpacked above.
Alternatives Beyond Cloud Storage
Hopefully the risks are clearer regarding potential cloud security issues, hidden data sharing, service reliability and long-term value. Before hitting upload, consider alternatives that provide offline control, save money and reduce privacy concerns.
G-Technology 16TB G-RAID External HDD
The G-Technology G-RAID solution offers expandable capacity through a 7200RPM dual hard drive design packing 16TB initially. It leverages RAID 0 for incredible transfer speeds reaching 400MB/s. And with USB-C, Thunderbolt 3 and HDMI connectivity, this drive fits into any workflow while providing reliable long term storage.
G-Technology 16TB G-RAID USB-C External Drive
Best Dual-Drive External HDD
$959.95
- 2x 8TB 7200RPM hard drives
- USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, HDMI
- 400MB/s transfer speeds
- 5 years warranty
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Synology DiskStation DS220j NAS
If seeking networked storage accessible from anywhere, Synology‘s DS220j NAS provides 2 drive bays good for over 16TB. It allows full media streaming, backup jobs and can mirror data to the cloud optionally. Pricing stays reasonable relative to cloud subscriptions while delivering flexibility.
Synology DiskStation DS220j NAS Drive
Best Home NAS Solution
$169.99
- 2 drive bay NAS enclosure
- Media streaming, backup & sync
- Accessible from any internet device
- Can mirror to cloud optionally
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Conclusion
Cloud storage delivers wonderful conveniences like ubiquitous access and real-time collaboration. But every silver lining brings a cloud, pun intended. As this guide covered, risks around security, privacy violations, uptime and long-term costs provide reasons to pause before uploading your digital life into Google or Microsoft‘s hands.
Alternative solutions like external drives and NAS devices rule the atmosphere when seeking aerial views of your data landscape safely offline. They provide perpetual access fully under your control and beyond the reach of hackers, lawyers or server failures.
So consider your appetite for risk and need for mobility before embracing the cloud with open arms. And never put all your backups in one cloud basket, no matter how solid their credentials and security claims. Harnessing both offline and cloud diversification lets you weather any storm.
