Online Privacy

Is Icedrive Safe to Store Your Personal Files?

Nathan James Turner

• 9 min read
Is Icedrive safe

If you’re tired of big tech cloud companies profiting from your data, fortunately, you have a variety of options available to make the switch from Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud, and others.

From cloud companies like Internxt, which was founded as a secure and private alternative to Google Drive, to Icedrive, a cloud storage company from the UK, you may be considering which option is best for you.

But, is Icedrive safe?

When choosing any cloud provider, you must know as much as possible about the company before trusting it with your data and files.

To help you understand, we will cover the following about the cloud company Icedrive

  • Is Icedrive safe, secure, and private?
  • What features does it offer?
  • Pricing
  • Is Icedrive encryption secure and private
  • What Icedrive alternatives are available?

By the end of this article, you will learn more about Icedrive, including the positives, negatives, and whether it's the right cloud storage for you if you value the privacy of your files.

Table of contents

What is Icedrive?

Icedrive is a cloud storage company based in the UK offering online storage, syncing, backups, and file sharing.

It’s available on Windows, Mac, Linux, web, and mobile, so you can access your files from anywhere.

Icedrive’s main focus is cloud storage and doesn’t offer other products or features to protect your privacy online outside of this, unlike other companies such as Internxt.

Icedrive has been around since 2019, so it has a track record for a decent amount of time in a competitive market.

But if you’re wondering is Icedrive safe, then we will investigate this in more detail next as we take a look at its features, encryption, and other features it does or doesn’t offer.

Is Icedrive free?

Yes, Icedrive is free to use; it offers 10GB of free cloud storage, which has some restrictions regarding file versions and advanced sharing options.

The biggest restriction, however, is that free plans do not include zero-knowledge encryption. This is a feature only available with paid Icedrive plans, so Icedrive could theoretically view your files in the cloud, making it a less private option than other cloud storage providers with zero-knowledge encryption for all plans.

Internxt post quantum encryption

If you want more features and client-side encryption, then you would need to get an Icedrive paid plan, for which you can get more information below.

Icedrive pricing

Icedrive offers monthly or annual subscriptions of 2, 4, and 6 terabytes at the following prices:

Monthly

  • Pro: €5.99/month
  • Pro Plus: €8.99/month
  • Pro Max: €14.99/month

Annual

  • Pro: €59/year
  • Pro Plus: €89/year
  • Pro Max: €149/year

Icedrive also offers lifetime plans, but they offer less storage, with a maximum of 1TB cloud storage, and you can stack these to add more storage in the future if necessary.

Icedrive lifetime plans

  • Basic: €89
  • Personal: €189
  • Personal +: €279

The plan you have with Icedrive determines the features you get, which we will look at next.

Icedrive features

With a paid Icedrive plan, you can access the following features:

  • Zero-knowledge encryption
  • File versions (up to 90 days for up to 100 versions)
  • File sharing with password protection and expiry dates
  • Media streaming
  • Standard / Priority support (email)

Icedrive Docs is also advertised as coming soon on its website, but more information about this, such as an expected release date, can’t be found anywhere else.

In the meantime, however, Icedrive currently offers basic cloud storage features, which may be enough for cloud storage for personal use and as an extra backup option for your current cloud storage plan.

But is Icedrive safe for your files if it doesn’t have zero-knowledge encryption for free plans?

Internxt is a cloud storage service based on encryption and privacy.

Is Icedrive safe?

Icedrive uses encryption at rest and when files are uploaded via the internet (TLS) to protect your files when they are sent and stored in the cloud.

Icedrive also complies with GDPR, ISO 27001, and data is stored in Tier III data centers for increased redundancy to ensure you can access your files and have uptime of up to 99.982%.

Is Icedrive secure?

To secure your accounts, Icedrive offers two-factor authentication, password protection, and link expiration for shared files.

Regarding encryption, Icedrive is the only cloud storage to use Twofish 256 encryption rather than the industry standard AES-256. This secures all files in the cloud in the same way as AES encryption, but has some drawbacks, which include:

Slower performance: AES encryption instructions are built into our computer processors, so our devices can encrypt files much more quickly. Twofish encryption does not have this, and the process takes longer and uses up more CPU as a result.

Less standard adoption: Fewer protocols, libraries, and hardware implementations use Twofish. As a result, this method of encryption has not been as extensively tested in comparison to AES encryption, which could result in more bugs or potential vulnerabilities that could risk user data.

Furthermore, Icedrive has not been audited for its security, nor is it open source, so the encryption and security methods can not be verified, and it is impossible to know how secure Icedrive is without external verification from security experts.

If you want guaranteed security and encryption, Internxt is fully open source and independently audited.

Therefore, if you want full security but still want free cloud storage, you may want to consider an Icedrive alternative, such as Internxt.

Is Icedrive private?

Icedrive claims on its website that its website does not include ads, tracking, or data selling. So this is another advantage over other small companies like Terabox which includes ads in its free plans, or even better than larger companies, such as Dropbox, which has a track record of sharing user data.

Icedrive has reduced privacy on its free plans, as these do not include zero-knowledge encryption, so Icedrive is not private if you’re on a limited free plan.

Even if you pay for an Icedrive account, you will get this extra encrypted folder, but the lack of independent audits of its encryption code and no open‑source code to verify means the lack of transparency makes it harder to fully trust privacy claims.

What is the best Icedrive alternative?

For the most advanced encryption, cloud storage features, and products designed to give you maximum online privacy, Internxt is the best Icedrive alternative.

It offers affordable subscription or lifetime plans of up to 100TB (via stacksocial), offering more storage and the chance to upgrade your plan to get all the features of Internxt, so you never run out of cloud storage again.

Internxt vs Icedrive

Internxt vs Icedrive overview

Category Internxt Icedrive
Max storage Up to 100TB 6TB
Pricing From €2/month From €5.99/month
Features Drive, VPN, Antivirus, Cleaner, Meet, Mail, Photos Cloud storage, sharing, syncing
Open source ✔ ✘
End-to-end encryption ✔ ✘ (paid feature)
Compliance GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001 GDPR, ISO 27001
Audited ✔ ✘
Post-quantum encryption ✔ ✘

Pricing

Internxt annual prices start at €2 a month, and even though Icedrive offers more storage, it still works out cheaper, plus you get extra features included in this plan, such as:

  • Encrypted backups
  • VPN
  • Antivirus
  • Password-protected file sharing
  • Video streaming
  • Post-quantum and zero-knowledge encryption
Internxt pricing plans

For lifetime plans, Internxt offers 5x the storage of Icedrive, with 5TB of storage, which you can also stack to give you more storage whenever you need more online space for your files.

Below, you can find all the features of Internxt plans, and you can view more information on our website, where you can purchase your plan via multiple payment methods, including cryptocurrency or by splitting the cost with Klarna.

Therefore, with a one-time payment with an Internxt plan, you get the best and most private encryption, and all the products you need to maintain your privacy online.

You can get an exclusive 85% discount via the link below to find out more on the topic of is Icedrive safe and more information about Internxt vs Icedrive.

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Security

Internxt uses AES-256 combined with Kyber-512 post-quantum encryption to encrypt and secure your files directly on your device for full end-to-end encryption.

To secure your accounts, you can enable 2FA and download a backup key for your account in case you forget your password, assuring you can always access your files.

For extra security regarding your files, all files are stored in multiple European data centers for increased redundancy, ensuring you can always access your files even in the case of natural disasters.

Internxt has a up time of 99.99999999999%. With this high amount of uptime, you files remain secure and always accessible.

Encryption

Internxt includes zero-knowledge and post-quantum encryption for all free and paid plans. The encryption happens on your device and protects your files during transit, when they are stored in the cloud, or when you share them with others.

All the keys are managed on your device, and only you have access to them. This offers the best privacy for your files available and ensures only you can access your files, not even Internxt can access your encrypted files.

Storage

For subscriptions, Internxt offers up to 5TB, while Icedrive offers 6TB. However, an Ultimate plan comes with everything Internxt has to offer, including:

  • VPN
  • Cleaner,
  • Meet,
  • File versioning
  • CLI, WebDAV, NAS, rclone support
  • Mail & Photos (coming soon)

For a lifetime plan, Icedrive offers up to 1TB, whereas Internxt offers 5TB. You can stack Icedrive plans, so if you wanted 5TB, this would cost you €1,395 compared to an Internxt Ultimate plan of €780, making a 5TB Internxt lifetime plan up to 43.45% cheaper and with a wider range of online privacy features.

Internxt also offers up to 100TB of storage with StackSocial, although they do not include the features of an Internxt plan, they are the best option if you want the basics of cloud storage and management for a large amount of videos or other files.

Accessibility

Icedrive offers support for Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile, as does Internxt.

Internxt offers more advanced cloud management with support for NAS, CLI, WebDAV, rclone, and native rclone support, giving you everything you need to manage your cloud, regardless of your OS.

Transparency

Internxt offers full transparency to align with its mission of online privacy and protection for everyone.

Internxt Antivirus protects you from malware.

The code for all of Internxt’s apps and services is available on GitHub, so anybody can check and verify Internxt’s encryption, data protection, and platform security.

Internxt’s code has been independently audited by the leading company Securitum, verifying the security of its platform to ensure you get the best combination of security and privacy.

Compliance

No matter the industry, or whether you use the cloud for personal or business use, Internxt complies with multiple bodies to ensure all data is handled securely.

Internxt is based in Spain, and follows GDPR, but it also complies with:

  • ISO 27001
  • HIPAA
  • SOC 2

So no matter the industry or data, Internxt ensures it’s kept secure against data breaches.

Industry trust

Internxt is the trusted cloud provider of Levante UD, helping this historic club secure its data and files in the cloud.

Partnering with Levante helps unite technology and sport and highlights Internxt's growing influence in the European tech landscape while showing our dedication to providing security across all industries and use cases.

Switch to Internxt for 85% off

To get the best Icedrive alternative, and to learn more about Internxt, claim your exclusive discount for 85% off all plans, and get the best deals and products to protect your online privacy.

Frequently asked questions

Is Icedrive safe for personal and private files?

Yes, Icedrive uses Twofish encryption and TLS protocols to keep your files safe. If you want more privacy, however, then you may want to consider cloud storage with more features and privacy-focused encryption like Internxt Drive.

Does Icedrive have zero-knowledge encryption?

Yes, but only on paid plans and only for files placed in the encrypted folder. The free plan does not include zero-knowledge encryption. Files stored there are only protected with standard encryption in transit and at rest, which means the service can technically access them.

Is Icedrive open source?

No. The apps and encryption implementation are not fully open source, which means outside researchers cannot easily inspect the code.

Is Icedrive safe for files stored outside the encrypted folder?

No. Files stored outside the encrypted area are still encrypted during transfer and while stored on servers, but Icedrive technically has access to them.

Is Twofish encryption secure?

Yes. Twofish is a well-known symmetric cipher and was a finalist in the competition that selected the AES standard. However, it may soon become outdated as companies shift to post-quantum encryption like that used at Internxt.