this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2025
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Privacy

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Alright, I needed a cloud service that had a large free plan for me to use until my financial situation got better. The issue is:

  • Filen doesn't allow you to send links until you have a paid plan;

  • Nextcloud is... confusing. I can't find a way to do accounts on most clients and stuff.

Can someone give me some hints on Nextcloud or suggest me any other good cloud services?

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[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Privacy is valuable, but its violation is free. If you want plenty of free cloud storage, you’ll get zero privacy. Some companies offer a free demo so you can test the product before purchasing. The storage space is just big enough for testing, not for storing your entire video collection.

If you’re short on cash, consider building a home NAS out of second hand hardware.

See also: lemmy.world/c/selfhosted

[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I mean, you can safely use a free service if you upload only encrypted stuff.

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 days ago

That’s a good point! Didn’t think of that one.

[–] Hyperrealism@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

If it's free, you're the product.

I'm running into the same issue as I move away from American companies. It's not a coincidence that better privacy laws, often mean less free stuff.

[–] veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 days ago

To be fair, on the modern internet, if it's paid, you're also the product.

That's one of the reasons I don't trust subscription services on principle without root access to their servers, you can not guarantee you're actually getting what you are paying them for once you are paying them for.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Isn't NextCloud supposed to be self-hosted?

In any case that's what I'd recommend: you can have server space for as little as €5/month.

If that's too much for you and you really need it to be completely free, then there's likely to be little Privacy. Try to avoid both US American companies and US American servers. The USA is not the only country to be avoided here though; to put it short, go EU.

[–] MeowerMisfit817@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't want completely free, just a freeumium thing, you know, like, I start it freely and then switch to a paid plan later.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago

Prolly the first time I have heard that somebody wants freemium.

[–] fraksken@infosec.pub 3 points 3 days ago

If by "cloud service", you mean "cloud storage", I would recommend nextcloud. If you have your own hardware, it's free to use.

If you don't hwve our own hardware, you could check with the storage boxes at hetzner, which are managed nextcloud boxes and are cheap enough.

If you need hints on nextcloud, best is to provide a clear description on which issues you're facing.