Choosing A Cloud Photo Storage Option

Cloud-based photo storage makes it easy to safely and privately back up your photo library without taking time to plug your phone into your computer. But with so many clouds out there to choose from—you might not know which is right for you. That’s why it’s important to ask yourself a few basic questions:

• How much storage do I need?
• What’s the cost?
• Are there automated upload features?
• Is there a mobile app?
• How important is encryption?
• What’s in the fine print?

We’ll take a deeper dive into each of these questions so you make the most of your photos.

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Know (about) how much storage you need. One of the reasons it’s smart to back up your photos using cloud picture storage is that it doesn’t take up space on your computer or phone. That being said, you want to make sure you’re getting enough storage, so you don’t have to put the overflow on your computer. So, how much storage space is enough? Everybody’s going to be different because some people won’t need more than a couple of hundred gigabytes (GB) to store family photos, while others need upwards up two terabytes (TB) to hold professional-quality photos. When trying to figure out how much storage space you need, keep in mind that you can store about 35,500 12MP (megapixel) photos with 128GB. If you’re taking 24MP photos, that number will drop considerably to about 2,600 photos in the same amount of storage space. Use these measurements to think about how many photos you might want to save in your online picture storage when choosing a plan or service. Not sure yet? Don’t worry! You can usually upgrade later if needed.

Have a budget. Most cloud-based storage services will offer a free version of their service. It’ll likely have limited features and cap you between 5GB and 10GB of storage. You’ll have to pay if you want more. Know what you want to pay monthly (or yearly) for picture storage. Look at a variety of options to find a price that works for you, while giving you the amount of storage you need. Some services will have tiered options to make it a little easier to make your decision.

Automated uploading features are good to have. How often do you connect your phone to your computer to clean up photos? Once a month? Once a year? Despite your best efforts, you might not get around to organizing photos very often. What if you drop your phone into the water while you’re on vacation? Or maybe it falls out of your pocket on a run. You’ll lose all your photos if you don’t have them backed up. So, look for automated uploading features that back up your photos as soon as you take them. Now those cute family pictures you took before dropping your phone overboard during the whale-watching excursion—are safe and sound.

Make it mobile-friendly. No matter what you use your photos for, make sure your storage is easily accessible and manageable from your phone. You’ll want to have access to your online picture storage to share photos with friends and family, post to social media, or even just flip through from time to time. A mobile app also makes it easy to organize your photos when you’re on the go or have a few minutes to kill, rather than taking time to sit down at your computer and sort through them all.

Look for encryption. Anytime you put something online it’s at risk of getting hacked into or stolen. You should feel confident in your cloud’s security features and be comfortable uploading just about anything you want to the cloud. You don’t have to be an IT expert and understand the ins and outs of front-to-back encryption. Instead, look for SSL encryption or TLS encryption to ensure your photos are protected as you send them to the cloud. Once there, the service should have security measures like two-factor authentication and a personal “vault” to upload those extra-sensitive docs like social security cards, passports, legal documents, etc.

Read the fine print. Before signing up for a photo storage service, understand the terms and conditions you’re agreeing to. In some cases, you could be giving up the rights to your photos. Social media apps are a good option for storing photos because you get unlimited storage for free and they’ll be there as long as you are, but you sometimes give up your right to ownership of a photo once it’s uploaded. Skim through the terms and conditions of potential storage services to make sure you can maintain all the rights to your photos.

The cloud lets you organize and share your photos safely, helping you make the most of your memories! Just make sure you shop around and find the best features so you find a storage solution that works best for you.