What Is A Zero-knowledge Feature in Cloud Storage?

Storing data in clouds is convenient for users and easy for data access, but it also increases the risk of data leakage. The increasing number of data breaches has raised concerns about how to protect personal sensitive information. Zero-knowledge on cloud storage services is one of the safest ways to protect data.

Literally, cloud storage providers know nothing (i.e. "zero-knowledge") about the data you store on their servers. Zero-knowledge encryption ensures that no one can access any of the data you use it to protect. This means that only you have the key to access the stored data and even the service provider cannot access your data.

If you are worried about the security of your data and are looking for a zero-knowledge encryption cloud storage solution but haven't found the right tool yet, don't worry. This guide lists the 6 best zero-knowledge storage providers for Windows PCs and Macs.

Top 6 Best Zero-Knowledge Cloud Storage services

While zero-knowledge encryption is not the only way to keep our data safe, it can ensure data privacy even when it is not secure. A secure cloud storage provider is critical to our data protection. Now, let's take a look to find the most appropriate one.

pCloud

To guarantee your data safety, pCloud applies TLS/SSL encryption in the process of uploading files to the pCloud servers. In order to protect data privacy, it allows users to subscribe for pCloud Crypto, with zero-knowledge encryption, which makes the encryption key (Crypto Pass) only available to the person who created it.

pCloud is compatible with various platforms (including Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile systems such as Android and iOS). Its automatic synchronization feature allows all files to be easily updated between devices. 

This tool gives 10 GB of free storage and pricing varies by plan, starting from $3.99 per month for 500GB of storage space to $359 one payment for 2TB storage for a lifetime.

SpiderOak

SpiderOak is one of the best zero-knowledge cloud storage options. When you download the SpiderOak application, encrypted with zero-knowledge, to backup your files and folders, the password you create will not be transmitted to the SpiderOak servers but instead stored on your PC. And it is difficult for anyone (not the user) to try to disseminate SpiderOak data.

SpiderOak provides high control over how you back up your files and supports backing up files from external and network drives. It also offers scheduled backups and continuous backups if needed. There are no restrictions on the version of the file.

The plans and pricing of this utility are $6/month or $69 annually for 150GB, $11/month or $115 annually for 400 GB, and $29/month or $320 annually for 5 TB.

Icedrive

The advanced security features of Icedrive are equally impressive, as they offer zero-knowledge and client-side encryption. Icedrive uses the 256-bit Twofish encryption instead of the standard AES encryption. This software allows you to select files and folders to be encrypted and leave common items in their normal state. But this is only for paid subscribers.

Sharing files is easy in Icedrive, with two options for accessing shares via email or public links. File preview and file version control are supported on it. Free users have 10GB of storage space and a 3GB daily bandwidth limit.

You can pay $1.99 per month for 150GB storage, $4.99 per month for 1TB storage, and $17.99 per month for 5TB storage. Yearly plans are also available for this tool.

Degoo

Degoo is a web-based free zero-knowledge cloud storage option that takes data security and privacy very seriously. In addition to using zero-knowledge encryption of your files and cross-continent storage replication, Degoo also employs two-factor authentication. And the password to access the files is known to you alone.

 After the files are uploaded to the Degoo server, you can transfer family photos or company files to others via a sharing link. And free users can get 100GB of storage space. But Degoo has a file upload size limit of 1GB. It costs $3 / 1 month for 500GB and $9.99 / 1 month for 10TB.

MEGA

Released in 2013, MEGA is a cloud solution that uses zero-knowledge encryption for all its products, including on its free tier. This end-to-end encrypted cloud storage makes sure that only the sender and authorized recipients can decrypt the shared or transmitted files. Another unique security feature of MEGA is its ability to set expiration dates on files.

It supports restoring to an earlier version of the file if it is corrupted. And MEGA cloud storage, offering 15GB of storage space for free, provides some very convenient collaboration features. Its prices start from $5.45 per month.

Sync.com

Sync.com is designed to allow users to access and share their files from computers and mobile devices without giving up their privacy. All files uploaded to Sync.com are protected by end-to-end 256-bit AES encryption, and only the account owner has control over the key of data. Besides, this cloud tool does not allow third-party access.

The Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android apps of Sync.com are all easy to use. It provides a 'rewind' feature that makes you rewind to data from a previous date, which will make sense in case of ransomware attacks or data accidental deletions.

After sign-up, this zero-knowledge service comes with 5GB of free space, and there are individual plans and team plans for your subscription starting from $8 per month for 2 TB storage.

Best Cloud Backup Service with High Security for Windows PC

Although cloud storage with zero-knowledge encryption ensures the security of your files, if you forget the password of encryption, you will never be able to retrieve it, and the files will not be accessible anymore. Moreover, the loading time of files will increase. Therefore, in addition to the above cloud storage solutions, you can also take other cloud solutions with high security into account.

CBackup is a free cloud backup tool that is based on the OAuth authorization system and applies 256-bit AES Encryption in data transfer. With scheduled backups, full version management, file filter, and other features, this backup utility supports you to backup files to public clouds like Google Drive, OneDrive, and so on, and to its CBackup Cloud with 5GB of free space.

Compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Privacy, it comes with cloud-to-cloud data backup that can help you to transfer data from one cloud to another with ease. You can follow the guide below to backup files on your Windows PC:

1. Sign up for a CBackup credential, download CBackup on your computer, and log in to the CBackup desktop app.

2. Head to the Backup tab and click on Backup PC to CBackup Cloud.

3. Select the files/folder on your laptop for backup. Press Start Backup to secure your computer files easily.

The Epilogue

We talked about the top 6 zero-knowledge cloud storage providers in this post. Every cloud solution differs from each other in many aspects, such as main features and pricing. And there is another PC cloud backup service with high security, CBackup, that you can use to protect your PC and cloud files as well.