Re-evaluating Personal File Storage

Resilio Sync is a great tool for syncing files across multiple devices without relying on a cloud service. I have been using it for a long time, and I even bought a lifetime license to access all the features. One of the features I liked was the encrypted folder, which allowed me to sync with a DigitalOcean droplet and have an offsite backup of my data. Resilio Sync worked well for me, but it also had some drawbacks.

One of the drawbacks was the slow syncing on mobile devices. Sometimes I had to wait for a while before Resilio Sync would start transferring files to or from my phone. This was frustrating when I wanted to quickly send or receive something. Another drawback was the difficulty of sharing files with others. Resilio Sync requires both parties to have the app installed and to exchange keys or links. This was not very convenient or user-friendly, especially for people who were not familiar with Resilio Sync.

I started to feel that Resilio Sync was not the best solution for my cloud storage needs. I wanted something more simple and accessible, something that would let me share files easily and access them from any devices. I decided to look at some of the traditional cloud file storage services again and see if they could offer me what I wanted.

I narrowed down my choices to Mega and Google Drive. I ruled out OneDrive because I don’t use any Microsoft products personally, Dropbox because it was too expensive, and iCloud because it had a poor web interface. I usually prefer end-to-end encryption for my data, so Mega was appealing to me. However, I also considered the transfer limits that Mega imposes on its free tier, and the app ecosystem that Google Drive offers. I liked how Google Drive integrated with draw.io, a free web app that I use frequently for creating diagrams.

In the end, I chose Google Drive over Mega. I felt that Google Drive offered me more convenience and functionality than Mega, and I was willing to sacrifice some privacy and security for that. I don’t store anything too sensitive on Google Drive anyway, so I’m not too worried about Google snooping on my data.

I’m not completely abandoning Resilio Sync though. I still use it for some purposes, such as backing up my camera roll outside of iCloud, and syncing some large files that would take up too much space on Google Drive. Resilio Sync is still a useful tool for me, but it’s not my main cloud storage service anymore.

That’s pretty much it for this post. I just wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences with switching from Resilio Sync to Google Drive. Maybe you’ll find it helpful or interesting if you’re looking for a cloud storage service yourself - or perhaps just a change, like me.