Try This Alternative to Proton Drive to Secure Your Data
As technology develops and our reliance on technology increases for education, work, or personal use grows, so does our need for privacy-focused providers to secure our data. Although numerous services are available, deciding which is right based on your needs can be challenging.
However, it is crucial to subscribe to a secure service to handle your data, as more industries are becoming victims of data breaches each year. One primary and most popular method to effectively secure your data is subscribing to a secure cloud solution.
Therefore, we will look at Proton Drive and whether its features are a suitable private alternative to the most popular cloud storage services, namely Google Drive, OneDrive, and others.
We will also consider an alternative to Proton Drive for more options to consider when switching to a life of online privacy and to ensure the security of your files.
What is Proton Drive?
Proton Drive is a cloud storage provider utilizing end-to-end encryption so you can securely store, back up, and sync your files. Aside from Proton Drive, Proton also provides other services for users which include:
- Proton Mail: encrypted, private email
- Proton VPN: Secure your Wi-Fi and keep your location private
- Proton Pass: A secure password manager
Alongside Proton Drive, Proton offers many tools to help you secure your data, so let’s take a comprehensive look at their Drive service in particular to help you decide how to store your files securely.
Key features of Proton Drive
Whether you choose Proton Drive to store your folders or any other option, it’s always essential to conduct the necessary research to ensure that the company meets your needs. One way to achieve this is by analyzing the key features of the product you’re interested in, so let’s take a look at what Proton Drive has to offer.
File Sharing, previews, VPN, & more
If you are looking for a wealth of features with Proton Drive, such as file collaboration or file editing in a browser, Proton Drive falls short of these features. So if you want more advanced features for your cloud storage, such as real-time editing of documents, you may wish to choose a cheaper alternative, as paying for Proton Drive for this service alone can be costly.
Nevertheless, Proton Drive has useful features, such as file previews of videos, audio, and Microsoft documents, and from the web browser, you can stream MP3 or FLAC files.
For your file-sharing options, Proton Drive lets you create a shared link that encrypts the file, its folder, and the metadata of your files and folders for extra security. You can protect this link further with your own secure password, set an expiration date, or instantly stop access to the link you previously shared.
Currently, Proton Drive is not available for Linux, but is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. With a Proton Drive subscription, you can access Proton VPN, Mail, Calendar, and password manager, which may be worth investing in if you want a wider range of privacy-focused products.
Overall, despite being in its infancy, if you want basic cloud storage, Proton Drive is certainly an option, and its privacy features may also be an interesting feature for you to consider if you want to make the investment.
Data protection
Not all privacy laws are equal, as we have seen with companies who take a lax approach to their data privacy and use data collection to profit rather than protect.
Proton, however, is based in Switzerland and therefore adheres to stricter privacy laws than the US. To begin with, Swiss privacy laws are regarded as much stricter than US data laws that companies like Google follow. Here are just a few reasons why:
- Data Protection: clear laws ensure companies follow the regulations when storing sensitive data.
- Consent requirements: Explicit and informed consent is needed when processing data.
- Security measures: cloud storage must implement encryption technology, access controls, and other security protocols to secure data.
Any company, be it Proton or otherwise, who does not follow these laws will face consequences ranging from fines for not handling data correctly and criminal charges in extreme cases.
Nevertheless, the fact that Proton is a company that follows these Swiss privacy laws as opposed to US laws is a beneficial aspect for Proton Drive, which is why other companies, like pCloud, also adhere to the same laws to protect data.
How Proton encrypts your data
Proton Drive and its other products use end-to-end encryption to protect your files; when you upload a file in Drive, it is automatically encrypted, so your data remains secure and protected against data breaches.
You will have a unique public and private encryption key with a Proton account. Their key management system is OpenPGP (Pretty Good Privacy). Your files are encrypted with your public key and can only be decrypted with your private key. Because only you can access your private key, nobody, not even Proton, can read your data.
Other features of Proton that show their security include
- Open Source policies: Proton’s source code is available for anyone to review.
- Digital Signatures: to verify the authenticity of your files and folders.
- Bug bounty program: rewards are offered to those who can improve Proton’s security.
So, yes, Proton Drive is a private cloud storage solution, but it is not without its drawbacks.
Proton Drive Pricing
Proton Drive offers possibly the least amount of free storage available - 1GB, so a free Proton account limits the number of files you can store in a free account.
If you want to upgrade, there are three tiers available that offer more storage and extra features. Tiers are broken down into monthly, annual, and 24-month plans. Here are the options for Proton Drive’s pricing:
Proton Drive monthly pricing
- Drive Plus: 200GB / $4.99
- Proton Unlimited: 500GB / $12.99
- Proton Family: 3TB / $29.99
Proton Drive annual plans
- Drive Plus: 200GB / $59.88
- Proton Unlimited: 500GB / $119.88
- Proton Family: 3TB / $287.88
Business plans are also available on a per user/per month basis, and customizable enterprise storage plans are available for large corporations.
ProtonDrive Pros & Cons
To summarize, Proton Drive emphasizes its privacy more than anything else, but is that enough for you to get the most out of your cloud storage with so many providers who focus on private cloud storage with more value for money?
Here is a quick overview of the pros and cons of Proton Drive, and we will then look at an alternative to Proton Drive for you to consider.
Pros of Proton Drive
- Strong privacy & security
- VPN & encrypted email included
- Powerful encryption
Cons of Proton Drive
- Very little free storage
- Limited collaboration features
- Expensive if you only use Drive
Alternative to ProtonDrive: Internxt
Internxt Drive is a secure, end-to-end encrypted cloud storage solution for users who value their privacy and want to store their files securely without compromising their data.
Aside from Internxt Drive, you can enjoy secure, encrypted file sharing with Internxt Send.
Features of Internxt Drive
With an Internxt account, you can access all of its features for free and get 1GB of free storage - ten times more than Proton’s free option. Internxt Drive has many benefits, both in its security and the overall service it offers.
Let’s find out more.
Internxt security
Privacy and security are essential to Internxt’s values and how it builds Internxt Drive and all its other products.
Unlike with ProtonDrive, Tresorit, Sync, Dropbox, iCloud, Mi Cloud, etc., files uploaded to Internxt Drive are fragmented, client-side encrypted, and distributed all over the globe so that a server never holds a complete file, but instead, an encrypted shard.
Interestingly, Proton Mail published an article mentioning that their choice of a traditional cloud architecture instead of one that’s more innovative, like that of Internxt, had some obvious disadvantages. In ProtonMail's own words:
Without a centralized server, there is no single point of failure for decentralized cloud storage systems. There is no one server that can suffer a catastrophic failure, accidentally burn to the ground, or be seized by a third party. With decentralized systems, your data is stored on the disks of multiple (possibly even hundreds of) operators, who may be located all over the world.
Internxt Drive, therefore, takes extra steps by encrypting and storing shards of your data across European servers, increasing the protection of your files and ensuring redundancy of your data, so you can always have access to your data in case anything should happen to a centralized server that would cause your data to be lost from this single location.
Internxt security features
Internxt is regulated by European laws, meaning any company that stores personal data has to adhere to these laws. Although Proton Drive follows Swiss privacy laws, European privacy regulations are equally as strict and implement the same measures to protect data.
Furthermore, Internxt is an open-source product, allowing those in the privacy community to review its source code for vulnerabilities.
Furthermore, internxt successfully passed its platform an independent security audit that analyzed and monitored the platform for security vulnerabilities. Securitum concluded that data stored with Internxt Drive is safe from hackers and cyberattacks.
Internxt Drive features: secure collaboration, file sharing, & more
Internxt is consistently updating its range of products to offer the best private cloud storage available. You can enjoy features such as secure collaboration and folder sharing that allows you to
- Share files with individuals of your choice
- Control permissions and file access
- Manage and control access with a dedicated share section
In addition to this, Internxt also offers file previews and streaming of music and other media files, enhanced account security for your accounts with account backup keys to ensure you will never lose access to your files if you forget your password.
Internxt also offers live customer support, so if you have any questions about getting started with Internxt, our team will be happy to help you.
Internxt Pricing
1GB of storage is available for free when you sign up for an Internxt account, or you can subscribe to a monthly or annual plan. Internxt also has prices dedicated to cloud storage in education.
Here is a breakdown of Internxt’s subscription plans.
Internxt monthly pricing
- 200GB: $4.99
- 2TB: $9.99
- 5TB: $19.99
- 10TB: $29.99
Internxt annual pricing
- 200GB: $45.99
- 2TB: $109.99
- 5TB: $199.99
- 10TB: $299.99
Lifetime storage options are also available if you want to access a lifetime of storage in one easy payment.
Internxt or Proton Drive?
Both Proton Drive and Internxt Drive are exemplary services when it comes to privacy. However, Internxt Drive offers more features at an affordable rate for larger amounts of storage.
Additional security measures, such as distributing and encrypting files on multiple servers, and more features available with Internxt Drive make Internxt a solid alternative to Proton Drive for users who want to commit to a versatile cloud provider that will effectively protect their right to privacy.