THE CLOUD IS one of the most confusing buzzwords thrown around. Although it’s used in many different ways, it can very easily confuse people since it’s a catch-all term.
While there are many different ways it can be used, the most popular reason would be to save photos for viewing later. Getting set up is easy, but it’s recommended to look around and see what services are out there first before signing up. Here’s what you should keep in mind.
What is the cloud?
While it sounds like a buzzword (and it is), it’s best to think of the cloud as a online hard drive, one you can access anywhere so long as you have an internet connection. Many use it for saving photos and documents online or to transfer large files to friends or family.
If an app or service uses it, it means that any saved data is immediately downloaded and made available on any device you sign in to.
Services you likely use
While this guide goes into greater detail about the cloud, the main services you would likely be iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox (most specifically its app Carousel), OneDrive and Flickr. All of these services offer free storage space ranging from 3GB to 15GB depending upon the provider while Flickr offers users 1TB to play around with.
While it’s better to stick to the one service for simplicity sake, sometimes you may end up with two or more.
If this is the case, it’s probably better to dedicate one service for photos like Flickr and leave other files to any other services you’ve signed up to.
Uploading photos
In its most basic form, saving photos and similar files is relatively easy. iPhone, Android and Windows Phone have their own system for automatically uploading images to cloud storage so it’s not a bad idea to activate this in settings when you have the chance.
You can choose it so that photos are only uploaded whenever you’re connected to WiFi, ensuring that you’re not using up valuable mobile data.
Similar measures are in place for when you’re using third-party services like Dropbox. All the major services have their own apps and it’s usually a matter of downloading it and syncing your photos through it.
Keeping them private/public
While there are going to be some photos you will want to share online, thankfully all services keep your photos and files private unless shared. In the case of photo sites like Flickr, the default setting is public, but you can change this setting whenever you’re uploading new photos.
Just keep in mind…
While the cloud is a useful feature, it’s best to use it as a backup. What it offers is an easier way to access the photos and documents you want, but it’s recommended that you keep them saved on your computer or hard-drive as a precautionary measure.
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