Google Announces New Cloud Storage Plans Including 2TB for $9.99 a Month

[BigMcGuire]

Ugh, in my excitement I completely missed that this is coming in the next few months. Always wondered why it takes so long to throw a switch like this. Looking forward to switching the wife and I to a "family" plan like we do with iCloud. Oh well, my B2 BackBlaze cloud storage is treating me really well (260GB for $1.25/mo) via Arq.

 

[Regime2008]

Thanks for posting that.

So, Apple will share personal information, without permission amongst its partners . Google will do so upon consent.

"
One big difference between the companies is how they treat your data. From Apple’s site:

At times Apple may make certain personal information available to strategic partners that work with Apple to provide products and services, or that help Apple market to customers.

Google’s:

We will share personal information with companies, organizations or individuals outside of Google when we have your consent to do so. We require opt-in consent for the sharing of any sensitive personal information.
"

Precisely! Many tote "apples privacy this or that", without realizing Google has better policies and transparency with user data than Apple.

 

[legacyb4]

I use Arq https://www.arqbackup.com/ to encrypt my data before sending it to Google Drive and B2 Backblaze. But yeah this is a huge point people need to consider before using Google.

I just help a friend set this up where she works to back up their small, 2-drive NAS; at $0.005/GB stored on Backblaze B2 after the initial purchase of the software, it's practically a no-brainer for everyone involved.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I just help a friend set this up where she works to back up their small, 2-drive NAS; at $0.005/GB stored on Backblaze B2 after the initial purchase of the software, it's practically a no-brainer for everyone involved.

I am really happy to see I'm not the only one doing this. I was shocked how fast B2 took my data. The initial 160GB upload took hours with my FIOS connection. They've been amazing.

What I love about Arq is, I have it also backing up to my Google Drive account (encrypted), 2 external drives (one at work, one at home), --- backing up the entire Home folder on my Mac. Set it to not backup while on battery - it does its thing automatically when I plug in to power.

I have had to download 15GB of data from B2 - at $.01/GB down - took minutes and was super easy and super cheap. Just make sure to write down those encryption keys into 1Password or something.

Love their hard drive stats reports! https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-for-q1-2018/

 

[genovelle]

This is hopefully good timing for iCloud users. Hopefully Apple will follow and reduce the costs of the current plans.

I think Google's option is more flexible than Apple's . You can use it as a drive easier and it integrates to backup options on NAS servers etc as a remote backup option. At this price I could almost drop my NAS.

There is a file app and it stores anything I want including folders and my desktop on my Mac automatically. That’s pretty darn flexible to me.

 

[BooBee]

I use Arq https://www.arqbackup.com/ to encrypt my data before sending it to Google Drive and B2 Backblaze. But yeah this is a huge point people need to consider before using Google.

I love Arq! I'm currently backing up 150GB to Amazon cloud but once the year is up I'll switch to Google drive for their 200GB tier. I mostly have digital photos I want copies of since I like to follow the rule of 3 (cloud copy, copy at home on external drive and copy at office fully encrypted on external drive).

 

[BigMcGuire]

I love Arq! I'm currently backing up 150GB to Amazon cloud but once the year is up I'll switch to Google drive for their 200GB tier. I mostly have digital photos I want copies of since I like to follow the rule of 3 (cloud copy, copy at home on external drive and copy at office fully encrypted on external drive).

Awesome awesome! Yep yep. Makes me happy to see this! Rule of 3. Time Machine, Arq to external drive at work/home, Arq to Google Drive, Arq to B2.

 

[aajeevlin]

Ugh, in my excitement I completely missed that this is coming in the next few months. Always wondered why it takes so long to throw a switch like this. Looking forward to switching the wife and I to a "family" plan like we do with iCloud. Oh well, my B2 BackBlaze cloud storage is treating me really well (260GB for $1.25/mo) via Arq.

I like the idea too. How do you plan to deal with the iCloud backup (besides just the photos)? That’s been my biggest issue going away from iCloud backup.

 

[jarman92]

Move your entire life to google so they can scan through it

Exactly the reason I stopped using Google Photos and deleted everything (which took forever, btw)

 

[aajeevlin]

I am really happy to see I'm not the only one doing this. I was shocked how fast B2 took my data. The initial 160GB upload took hours with my FIOS connection. They've been amazing.

What I love about Arq is, I have it also backing up to my Google Drive account (encrypted), 2 external drives (one at work, one at home), --- backing up the entire Home folder on my Mac. Set it to not backup while on battery - it does its thing automatically when I plug in to power.

I have had to download 15GB of data from B2 - at $.01/GB down - took minutes and was super easy and super cheap. Just make sure to write down those encryption keys into 1Password or something.

Love their hard drive stats reports! https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-for-q1-2018/

Do you do time machine backup with your setup? I backup everything with CrashPlan but not sure what to do with time machine backup?

 

[BigMcGuire]

I like the idea too. How do you plan to deal with the iCloud backup (besides just the photos)? That’s been my biggest issue going away from iCloud backup.

Do you do time machine backup with your setup? I backup everything with CrashPlan but not sure what to do with time machine backup?

I use Google Photos for my primary photo backup. I have 130GB of photos and videos (100k+) in Google Photos with a copy on one of my hard drives. I turned on iCloud Backup for my iPhone 8+ that I've had for 6 months so 16GB of photos is there as a "secondary" backup. I have Amazon Photos as a third backup with my prime membership. I iTunes backup my iPhone to one of my external hard drives (using the "ln" command in Terminal to map an internal drive location to an external drive).

I also have Apple Photo libraries on my 2 external drives that I back my iPhone up to every few weeks as well.

I have not found a good one stop shop for my photos. I am looking and gladly welcome suggestions (paid or unpaid).

Yes, I TimeMachine backup to my 2 external drives (one at home and at work). Can't hurt!


I realize it's overkill but it requires almost no additional effort so I do it.

 

[jarman92]

Here's an article you might have interest in reading when it comes to how each company handles user data.

https://decentralize.today/apple-vs...company-handles-your-data-better-a7022bd452b1

The author of this article is so obviously anti-Apple that it’s almost worthless. He somehow brings up the iCloud “hack” (that wasn’t a hack, of course, and very likely resulted from weak user passwords) but mentions nothing about Apple’s standoff with the FBI.

He insinuates that Google handling 2FA over SMS is better than Apple’s method, when just the opposite is true.

He also deliberately misrepresents the content of Apple’s privacy policy, and totally glazes over the consequences of Google’s massive data collection operation.

 

[BigMcGuire]

The author of this article is so obviously anti-Apple that it’s almost worthless. He somehow brings up the iCloud “hack” (that wasn’t a hack, of course, and very likely resulted from weak user passwords) but mentions nothing about Apple’s standoff with the FBI.

He insinuates that Google handling 2FA over SMS is better than Apple’s method, when just the opposite is true.

He also deliberately misrepresents the content of Apple’s privacy policy, and totally glazes over the consequences of Google’s massive data collection operation.

Also, just using Google's services is consent last time I checked??? Agreed.

 

[Regime2008]

The author of this article is so obviously anti-Apple that it’s almost worthless. He somehow brings up the iCloud “hack” (that wasn’t a hack, of course, and very likely resulted from weak user passwords) but mentions nothing about Apple’s standoff with the FBI.

He insinuates that Google handling 2FA over SMS is better than Apple’s method, when just the opposite is true.

He also deliberately misrepresents the content of Apple’s privacy policy, and totally glazes over the consequences of Google’s massive data collection operation.

Google doesn't use SMS for 2FA as default, and for quite some time now. And this article is far from anti-apple. It just seems you are sided with Apple, and anything against that is "wrong" in your eyes. What is true though, is that Google has better policies on user data, and have better security than Apple by a long shot. There is a reason Apple is going to Google to store its data....

 

[BigMcGuire]

Google doesn't use SMS for 2FA, and for quite some time now. And this article is far from anti-apple. It just seems you are sided with Apple, and anything against that is "wrong" in your eyes. What is true though, is that Google has better policies on user data, and have better security than Apple by a long shot. There is a reason Apple is going to Google to store its data....

Google's data centers are insane and all over - redundancy is great. It's definitely a pricey cloud storage over Amazon - kinda surprised they went with Google over Amazon but my guess is Google gave them a heavy discount. As long as you encrypt everything and handle keys well, all good. I do wish Apple was using its own "renewable powered" data centers but my guess is, it would have to spend hundreds of billions to put data centers all over the world to do so.

 

[Regime2008]

Google's data centers are insane and all over - redundancy is great. It's definitely a pricey cloud storage over Amazon - kinda surprised they went with Google over Amazon but my guess is Google gave them a heavy discount. As long as you encrypt everything and handle keys well, all good. I do wish Apple was using its own "renewable powered" data centers but my guess is, it would have to spend hundreds of billions to put data centers all over the world to do so.

But Apple DOES have the money to do this. They could have implemented data centers all over, years ago at that. Instead, they just cancelled plans for the one in Ireland. Plus it probably makes more sense to pay someone else to house their data, which can handle the sheer size and do a better job with security. They can then use the extra money to fix software bugs and what not.

 

[jarman92]

Google doesn't use SMS for 2FA as default, and for quite some time now. And this article is far from anti-apple. It just seems you are sided with Apple, and anything against that is "wrong" in your eyes. What is true though, is that Google has better policies on user data, and have better security than Apple by a long shot. There is a reason Apple is going to Google to store its data....

Google absolutely does use SMS as default, I just recently set it up for someone and that was the suggested method. There are other options, but I can’t imagine many people use a code generator or want to install the Google app on their phone just for this purpose. I don’t think Apple even offers an SMS option.

I also forgot to mention that the article completely glazes over the glaring security vulnerabilities in Android, which are highlighted with a new story pretty much every week. It also makes no mention of Android fragmentation.

I am quite critical of Apple when warranted, so your claim is entirely without merit. However, anyone looking objectively at this article can see it is heavily biased against Apple.

Also, you make two very bold claims in your comment and provide absolutely no evidence to back them up.

 

[nutmac]

It seems Google just copied Apple's pricing grid for the later tiers. I'm not sure Apple wants to remain the cheapest option between both. Microsoft One Drive is hands on the cheapest though, with $100 for 5 TB of storage for the year + Office 365.

What I want from Apple is more free storage. You can't do anything with 5 GB, and the competition has more free storage anyways (Microsoft, Google Dropbox*).

What Apple should do is add more values to paid tiers (e.g., add iCloud Music Library to 200 GB and 2 TB tier) while whitelisting backup for 1 device (whatever consumes the most data).

Apple wants to increase subscription revenue, not decrease it. I think 5 GB is fine for most folks just as long as backup storage is whitelisted.

 

[Regime2008]

Google absolutely does use SMS as default, I just recently set it up for someone and that was the suggested method. There are other options, but I can’t imagine many people use a code generator or want to install the Google app on their phone just for this purpose. I don’t think Apple even offers an SMS option.

I also forgot to mention that the article completely glazes over the glaring security vulnerabilities in Android, which are highlighted with a new story pretty much every week. It also makes no mention of Android fragmentation.

I am quite critical of Apple when warranted, so your claim is entirely without merit. However, anyone looking objectively at this article can see it is heavily biased against Apple.

Also, you make two very bold claims in your comment and provide absolutely no evidence to back them up.

I find it ironic you mention backing up claims with evidence...yet I was the only one with a link...

The Google app is definitely not ONLY for 2FA. As matter a fact, the majority of people who use the app, use it for searches. Did the person have the Google App installed? If not, don't you think that would explain why SMS would be the default?

Fragmentation means nothing when devices still get monthly updates. Usually people bring that up when they are clueless on how Android updates work. And when it comes to the headlines pertaining to vulnerabilities, iOS and MacOS take 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. There are literally news stories every week of exploits, bugs, gaining root without password, etc. I don't even have to provide links for that, as I'm sure you see numerous stories or users posting about this, on a day to day basis.

But without shifting the goalposts, lets get back on topic. Since you believe the article is biased, does this mean the copied and pasted policies were altered to fit your narrative of the article being "biased"? If they were altered, don't you think it would be easy to fact check for any disparities? Because the policies alone, kinda show a clear cut difference on how user data is handled. And for that, I am correct in saying Google handles user data better than Apple. No amount of cheering for Apple can change that fact.

 

[ignatius345]

iCloud needs a middle plan, such as 700 GB for $4.99.
The current plans offer either too little or too much.

It's kind of the movie theater popcorn model. Pay a lot of money for more than you need, or take the next tier down which is only slightly cheaper but WAY smaller.
[doublepost=1526410189][/doublepost]

Do you do time machine backup with your setup? I backup everything with CrashPlan but not sure what to do with time machine backup?

If your machine breaks or gets lost, having a good, up-to-date Time Machine backup is going to get you back on your feet much more quickly than initiating a very very large download from CrashPlan or whatever. Also great for migrating to a new Mac.

Best practice is to keep several backup methods going. Time Machine + your offsite cloud backup protects your data from a local disaster and also lets you recover quickly from more ordinary scenarios.
[doublepost=1526410567][/doublepost]

What I love about Arq is, I have it also backing up to my Google Drive account (encrypted), 2 external drives (one at work, one at home), --- backing up the entire Home folder on my Mac. Set it to not backup while on battery - it does its thing automatically when I plug in to power.

Sounds great. Right now in addition to Time Machine and whatever is on iCloud Drive or Dropbox (a lot), I'm doing offsite backup 1x/month with Carbon Copy Cloner and a pair of encrypted portable drives I keep at my office. It's pretty painless and fast and I do like the fact that I have physical control of my data. Still, could see setting up an Arq-based system in the future. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Marco Klobas]

iCloud does not do full backups of Macs at all. It can sync the documents and desktop folders, but that's it.
iCloud also unfortunately doesn't offer the versioning features that Dropbox, and I believe Google Drive, offers.

One thing that I find missing in iCloud is the possibility to backup external volumes. I'd gladly backup my external drive on iCloud. Currently I'm using Amazon S3 for this purpose. Quite happy with it.

 

[-BigMac-]

No wonder. The more u store on their servers, the more data they have for their targetted ads

 

[sracer]

A nice difference between Google's drive offering and Apple's iCloud is that documents in native Google Docs/Sheets/Slides format don't count against storage limits.

 

[TimWillz]

Turns out that Google matched Apples pricing that Apple set about a year ago.

And hopefully Apple react.
[doublepost=1526416333][/doublepost]

It seems Google just copied Apple's pricing grid for the later tiers. I'm not sure Apple wants to remain the cheapest option between both. Microsoft One Drive is hands on the cheapest though, with $100 for 5 TB of storage for the year + Office 365.

What I want from Apple is more free storage. You can't do anything with 5 GB, and the competition has more free storage anyways (Microsoft, Google Dropbox*).

* I've always had 7.5 GB of free storage because I shared their promo videos back in the days

Agreed, 5GB is poor. Hopefully Apple react to the google pricing match then.

 

[T Coma]

Microsoft One Drive is hands on the cheapest though, with $100 for 5 TB of storage for the year + Office 365.

No doubt. I've been using the Office 365 package for quite a while now, as it's absolutely the best deal for the storage alone, and you get almost (no Access or Publisher for Mac users) the entire suite essentially for free. If you don't need any of the MS Office, then of course YMMV. I always buy my (legit) licenses for the "Home" package on EBay for under $70 for a year which include the full suite on 5 computers, 5 mobile devices, and 1 TB of storage each for 5 users. For the cost, Google and Apple can't come close to that, storage-wise, and depending on your suite needs (mine is primarily Excel), the software comes in a definite second and far distant third.

The One Drive app and web page service are relatively clunky and slow, especially compared to Google. MS has been steadily improving but it's still nothing like the ease, speed, and intuitiveness that Google nailed a long time ago. I've found the Apple experience to be somewhere in between, but with no real advantage, I see no reason to continue exploring it.