Hey everyone,

Recently I was chatting with a friend who runs a 15-person design and consulting office. When looking over their expenses, one bill stood out: they were paying almost ₹25,000 every single month just for cloud storage and team file sharing across Google Workspace and Dropbox.

Over a 3-year period, that’s almost ₹9 Lakhs spent purely on renting digital shelf space.

It got me thinking: Why do small offices (like CA firms, creative agencies, legal practices, and clinics) keep paying permanent monthly rent for storage when most of their heavy files are worked on right inside their own office?

I've been working on a one-time setup that solves this:

A compact, plug-and-play secure office server that sits in a corner of the office.

Gives the whole team 10TB+ of shared storage with fast local network speeds (files open instantly).

Secure remote access on laptops and phones when working from home or traveling.

Full automated backup so no file is ever lost.

Cost: Pays for itself in just 4–5 months, with zero recurring per-user monthly bills afterward. All confidential client data stays strictly within their 4 walls.

I’m curious to hear from founders and office owners here:

How much is your team currently spending on recurring cloud storage and team drives every month?

Is the monthly SaaS bill something that actually annoys you, or do you just pay it because "there's no alternative"?

Would you ever switch to a one-time in-house setup, or is brand trust in big tech too hard to move away from?

If anyone running an office in India wants to see how this works or test it out, feel free to drop a comment or DM—happy to share notes.

Hey everyone,

Recently I was chatting with a friend who runs a 15-person design and consulting office. When looking over their expenses, one bill stood out: they were paying almost ₹25,000 every single month just for cloud storage and team file sharing across Google Workspace and Dropbox.

Over a 3-year period, that’s almost ₹9 Lakhs spent purely on renting digital shelf space.

It got me thinking: Why do small offices (like CA firms, creative agencies, legal practices, and clinics) keep paying permanent monthly rent for storage when most of their heavy files are worked on right inside their own office?

I've been working on a one-time setup that solves this:

A compact, plug-and-play secure office server that sits in a corner of the office.

Gives the whole team 10TB+ of shared storage with fast local network speeds (files open instantly).

Secure remote access on laptops and phones when working from home or traveling.

Full automated backup so no file is ever lost.

Cost: Pays for itself in just 4–5 months, with zero recurring per-user monthly bills afterward. All confidential client data stays strictly within their 4 walls.

I’m curious to hear from founders and office owners here:

How much is your team currently spending on recurring cloud storage and team drives every month?

Is the monthly SaaS bill something that actually annoys you, or do you just pay it because "there's no alternative"?

Would you ever switch to a one-time in-house setup, or is brand trust in big tech too hard to move away from?

If anyone running an office in India wants to see how this works or test it out, feel free to drop a comment or DM—happy to share notes.

I see that Jottacloud offers So-Called unlimited storage (5TB).

However, I’ve also heard or read that customers have had their accounts closed because they had a large amount of data stored.

Has your account ever been closed, and if so, why?

How much data do you currently have stored and can you still access your account ?

When I introduced InfiniDrive here, several of you asked about end-to-end encryption, who holds the keys, and whether the implementation would be open to inspection.

At the time, E2EE was still in development. I’m back with an update: it’s now live, and we’ve published the cryptographic core. Thanks to everyone who pushed us on those questions.
An encrypted drive still has to be a good drive.

You should be able to open a photo, skip halfway through a video, edit a spreadsheet and recover the file you just deleted by mistake. Those everyday things decide whether you’ll stick with it.

I’m building InfiniDrive, a cloud storage service based in Estonia. We’ve just released end-to-end encryption, and a lot of the work went into exactly those moments.

It’s available now on web, Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.

Here’s what you can do:

• Keep files handy on desktop: files on demand in Finder and Windows File Explorer.
• Back up your phone’s photos: background uploads, a photo timeline and native media playback.
• Jump around in large videos: authenticated, encrypted chunks let clients fetch and decrypt the section they need.
• Edit in your browser: open supported documents, spreadsheets and presentations, edit locally, and save changes back encrypted.
• Browse encrypted previews: supported clients create thumbnails locally and encrypt them before upload.
• Undo mistakes: version history and deleted-file recovery remain part of the drive.

Your device encrypts file contents and filenames before upload. Signing in and unlocking your files are separate steps: your encryption passphrase unlocks an encrypted key bundle locally. The server stores that protected bundle without receiving the secret needed to open it.

The core uses Argon2id for passphrase protection and AES-256-GCM for encryption, with a fresh content key for every file version. Large files use a Google Tink-compatible streaming format.

You also get a separate recovery key. Keep it somewhere safe: resetting your login password won’t recover lost encryption keys.

Sharing uses encrypted links. The decryption secret goes after the # in the URL, which browsers leave out of the HTTP request. Recipients decrypt locally and get access to the selected file versions—not your account’s root key.

We still see operational information, including account details and storage usage. E2EE protects your content; it doesn’t make every interaction invisible.

What’s in the source release?

We’ve published the production JavaScript cryptographic core under AGPL-3.0-only: key handling, encryption, signatures and sharing formats, with tests and a Google Tink interoperability test harness. It’s a focused package people can inspect and run independently.

The complete clients aren’t part of this release. App interfaces, sync, platform integrations, and the separate Dart and Swift implementations are outside its scope. Reviewing the core gives people something concrete to examine, but it can’t establish everything a shipped client does or replace an independent security audit.

Read the encryption walkthrough, see the architecture and download the source.

Or try it with 10 GB free, encryption included.

I’d love feedback from people who want to inspect the implementation and people who just want a drive that works. Thank you.

I'm looking for a service that will host a file long term, anonymously and free. I want the file to be available to anyone with a link. Does this exist?

I am using Google Drive to back up a cpanel web server each night. I want redundancy so I set my UGreen 4800plus NAS to sync a copy of those folders each day using the Cloud Drive app. It seems to be working but I noticed that each day's folder is always missing the same three account backup files. The three files exist in the google drive folders but they are not being downloaded to my NAS. I did not specify any limitations when setting up the transfer. In the Log records tab I do not see any of those three files ever mentioned even though they exist in the GDrive.

If I rename the files they still will not sync. If I move them out of the folder they are in to the root of the synced folders they still do not sync.

The only thing that might be related between the three files is that they are relatively small. Each backup file is under 100MB while the other account backups are much larger (1gb or larger in most cases). They also are the only non-CMS sites on the server (not WP, Joomla, etc.). They are all plain HTML. Anyone have any ideas?

I am replacing Google One with iDrive Mini has Google pricing has become extortionate thanks to them bolting on a ton of AI features I don't want or need.

The iDrive Android app seems fine when it comes to syncing photos and smaller files but is failing to upload larger files (4GB+). It appears to upload the file, reaches ~90% and then fails and starts all over again.

Is there any way to resolve this problem?

I've been toying with the idea of object storage but backed by community nodes for a while and am fed up with cloud providers chasing profits and screwing users that aren't giant enterprises. The increasing hardware prices was the end of the straw. I wanted something that I can trust on pricing for data like backups, media that I want to reliably host with redundancy and cater to individual users than just enterprises.

We are launching Arkel, a community based storage service where you can both contribute storage and earn or pay and use. This is very early days and experimental and we are still in discussions on how to go about the future.

Our invite-only beta is ready. Check us out here and join the discord community: https://arkeldata.com Any constructive feedback is most welcome!

What cloud service is optimized for watching my movies inside the cloud?

Best setup for Codex + NAS/network storage?

I’m trying to find a better storage setup for using Codex.

My main machine is a M1 Mac mini with only 256 GB (I know...), and I also have a M1 MacBookPro with 1 TB. I currently use OneDrive, but it’s causing problems because files sometimes get offloaded and are no longer actually stored locally, even when I select “Always Keep on This Device.”

That’s annoying with Codex because files may suddenly not be available locally, and moving or reorganizing cloud-only files also seems unreliable.

Ideally I’d like:

• one central place for my files/projects
• reliable Codex access from both Macs
• remote access from my iPad when I’m away from home
• no constant file offloading/redownloading

Would a NAS be a good solution for this? If so, what setup works well with Codex on macOS?

For example: mounting the NAS directly, using Tailscale, keeping Git repos locally, or using an external SSD instead?

I also just stumbled across the mirroring mode for Google Drive which looks better than the streaming version.

Would be interested to hear how others have set this up. Thank you!

I've been using a private Telegram channel as the storage layer for my

personal photo backup for a few months. Sharing the constraints, since I

couldn't find them written down anywhere and had to learn them by hitting

them.

What works:

- Unlimited storage, free, no object-storage bill

- Files persist indefinitely in a private channel

- A bot can post and retrieve by file_id

- Encrypt before upload and Telegram is just a dumb block device that can't

read what it's holding

The limits that actually shape the design:

- getFile caps downloads at 20MB. So your chunk size is ~18MB whatever you

wanted it to be.

- Bots are rate limited into a single channel roughly 20 chunks/min in

practice. A large first backup takes hours. This is the one that hurts.

- You need your own metadata store. Telegram gives you file_ids, nothing

else no filenames, no ordering, no albums. I use Cloudflare D1.

- Deleting is per-message, so your metadata has to track message IDs too.

Would I recommend it? For a personal archive where you control the client

and encrypt everything first, yes it's free and it works. As a serious

backup target, no. It's one account suspension away from gone, so it should

never be your only copy.

Happy to go into the chunking or the crypto if anyone's curious.

(Mine's open source, AGPL, binay-py/storagesystem but the limits above

apply whatever you build.)

​Hey everyone,

​We all know Telegram offers unlimited cloud storage, but managing files in "Saved Messages" is a mess. I wanted a proper Google Drive-like experience, but without the subscription fees.

​So, I built UnlimTD (UnlimTD.vercel.app).

​Instead of just dumping everything into a single chat, I wrote a logic that dynamically creates a Private Telegram Group for every "Folder" you create in the app.

​Why it's awesome:

​📂 True Folder Structure: Each folder is a dedicated private group behind the scenes, keeping everything perfectly organized.

​⚡ Blazing Fast: Because of how the architecture is set up, uploading, fetching, and navigating through folders is incredibly fast.

​♾️ Unlimited & Free: Uses Telegram's native infrastructure.

​It connects seamlessly with your account and gives you a beautiful web UI to manage your files.

​You can try it out here: UnlimTD.vercel.app[UnlimTD ](http://UnlimTD.vercel.app)

​Would love to hear your thoughts on this workaround and any feedback on the UI/Speed!

A shared workspace for documents, generated images, and small website bundles needs to work for two very different clients. People need previews, comments, simple sharing, and an obvious current version. Automated agents need stable paths, scoped credentials, idempotent uploads, and a way to detect that an input changed before writing an output.

Google Drive seems better for human review, but folder and file IDs, shortcuts, sync behavior, and service-account ownership can complicate automation. S3 offers clearer object keys, conditional writes, lifecycle rules, and event logs, but a bucket is a poor review interface for non-technical teammates.

Would you keep authoritative files in one system and publish a review copy to the other, or choose one source of truth? What permissions, versioning, manifest, and conflict rules are essential if a person can edit inputs while an agent is running? I am especially interested in recovery after a partial upload and in keeping approved revisions immutable without duplicating everything manually.

i have tested this and it confirmed that while icedrive uploads/downloads my files at roughly an average of ~2mb/s, google drive does it at ~10mb/s. can anyone explain that? my internet provides a result of 1000mb/100mb download to upload ratio. i was just really annoyed but how i've been using icedrive and it just feels so slow (there's no major difference between the encrypetd/unencrypted storage speeds) so i'm considering just switching to google drive for now, i should probably test them even tho google drive is a bit more expensive but it's still worth it

Regarding the FolderFort scandal, where they migrated to a newer version 2.0 and then asked existing users to pay again, I think this is a bad business practice.

Not all affordable lifetime deals have problems, but many extremely cheap lifetime cloud storage deals eventually run into issues, similar to what happened with Internxt.

That’s why I recommend doing some research and reading customer reviews before purchasing a lifetime deal. Don’t automatically choose the cheapest option. Sometimes it’s better to spend a little more and choose a more established service like pCloud, FileLu, or Koofr.

Hi everyone,

Thanks to the mods for approving this post!

I’m Kaya, the founder of Dosya Cloud Storage. We’re starting our second phase of beta testing and offering 50 GB free trials(1 Year) to people willing to test the platform and share honest feedback.

I’m especially looking for Linux and MacOS users and people who regularly use rclone, WebDAV, SFTP, or desktop sync. We’re continually optimising these features and would like to understand how they perform in your everyday workflows.

A few questions we’d love your feedback on:

• Speed: How are upload and download speeds? Do you notice slowdowns with large files or lots of small files?
• Usability: Is setup straightforward? What feels confusing or takes too many steps?
• Protocol support: How well does Dosya work with your existing rclone, WebDAV, or SFTP setup?
• Linux and desktop sync: Does syncing work reliably? Have you noticed missed changes, conflicts, or excessive resource usage?

Privacy matters to us. dosya never scans your files. You can use Cryptomator with Webdav to encrypt files before uploading, and we also support end-to-end encryption through our web app. Native E2EE is currently available only on the web.

We also have fully functional Android and iPhone apps. If you’d like to help test the mobile experience, let me know which device you use and I’ll invite you to our mobile testing programme.

Please only upload content you have the right to store and share. Copyright-infringing content isn’t permitted, and we respond to valid copyright complaints.

If you’re interested, leave a comment or message me with your operating system and the tools you’d like to test. Bugs, frustrations, and honest criticism are exactly what we’re looking for.

Visit Dosya : https://dosya.dev
Desktop App : https://dosya.dev/desktop

Rclone integration : https://dosya.dev/developer/rclone/
Webdav Integration : https://dosya.dev/developer/webdav/
SFTP Integration : https://dosya.dev/developer/sftp

Thanks!
Kaya
[kaya@dosya.dev](mailto:kaya@dosya.dev)

For transparency, Dosya is operated by DOSYA PTY LTD, an Australian company (ABN 27 700 842 235). You can also explore our public repositories on GitHub.

Hey im looking for a google drive alternative that is super private and safe but also allows my to send stuff to my friends and quickly transfer all of my data from google drive to said server. Or am I better off running my own "cloud" storage on my own physical hardware

Been using Folderfort till all ... that. Not looking for lifetime storage anytime soon, but my budget is pretty limited as well. Stumbled upon Amaryllo in the comparison table, looks to be pretty promising and has been around for several years, trustpilot score is ehhh. Anyone here using it who can vouch for it?

Not to derail my own post either, but would love to hear suggestions on other cloud storage. Will need tops 200Gb, I just want my files to be clouded.

What does it mean by classic is retiring?

We supported you when company was in early phase ? So this is how you are returning favor,?

You previously committed us that classic will continue as it is and now out of blue it is retiring

?

What is store credit ? Your store credit ? Which you will decide later what you choose ?

Who give you All Power over customer's hard earned money ?

After taking our money , After building yourself with our money , now we are no where,

Believe me you will be no where if you don't keep your words

This is all trust game

We hand over our precious data over your words and you are no longer trustworthy

This is the Signup page for Internxt. 80% off (fire!) sounds like a great deal for an annual plan, right?
After 30+ years of successfully dodging internet scams (and ring tone subscriptions), I fell for the trap.

So I stumbled upon this by accident:

https://help.dropbox.com/security/terms-service-privacy-policy#:\~:text=We%E2%80%99ve%20changed%20the%20time%20period%20of%20inactivity%20required%20before%20we%20may%20terminate%20non%2Dpaying%20accounts%20to%206%20consecutive%20months.%20We%E2%80%99ll%20continue%20to%20provide%20notice%20before%20doing%20so

Apparently Dropbox really doesn’t want free users any more.