News and Reviews > Mini-Reviews by Members
pCloud
wraith808:
Basic Info
App NamepCloudApp URLhttp://www.pcloud.com/ if you wish to go direct, or https://partner.pcloud.com/r/8393 (referral link) or https://my.pcloud.com/#page=register&invite=6zq6ZvuMJ5k (Get a free GB if signing up free)App Version Reviewed3.5.8RequirementsWindows XP-Windows 10 (Tested on Windows 10), MacOS (doesn't say which versions), Linux (64/32-bit), Microsoft Store, iOS, Google Play, Download the APKSupport Methodshttps://www.pcloud.com/help/general-help-center/ and https://www.pcloud.com/request-help.htmlPricing SchemeFree for 10-20GB. Currently have a lifetime plan $175 for Premium, or $350 for premium plus. $4.99/mo or $9.99/mo respectively normally. https://www.pcloud.com/cloud-storage-pricing-plans.html
Intro:
With the largest players removing the ability to have personal folders and share easily, I've been wondering the options. I like Project Send (which I reviewed), but I don't want to go through setting that up in all instances. Someone whom I support via Patreon sent me a link, and I was impressed at how transparent it all was. So I looked into pCloud. Still not totally sold, but I'm willing to give it a try because of the cool features.
Who is this app designed for:
Basically anyone who needs to share files in a secure and convenient way, but doesn't want to rely on public or expensive services.
Review
After creating an account, it showed the obligatory "take these steps to get more space". I did, and am now at 14GB. I downloaded and installed the client as a part of this process, and encountered the one thing that immediately set it apart to me. It created a drive on my machine- a virtual drive that does not store files locally. From the FAQ:
By installing pCloud on your computer (through its desktop application pCloud Drive), the app creates a secure virtual drive which expands your local storage space. Every change you make in your pCloud can be seen immediately on your computer, phone or tablet. All your devices are instantly synchronized and you have direct file access to any update you make.
--- End quote ---
So the 14GB that I have from pCloud shows up as a drive on my PC, but doesn't take up space on my PC. There are positives and negatives to this for sure, but personally, given my use case, the positives far outweigh the negatives. I imagine it's not immediate like the propaganda says- there is a cache folder maintained on your PC where these files are cached and uploaded, I'm sure. It does appear pretty quick in uploading and downloading however.
You can also pay an additional amount to encrypt everything client side with zero knowledge if you want.
It's promising as I said. My concerns are towards not knowing the company, or anything about where they store things other than the company is in Switzerland.
Why I think you should use this product
If you have to share files with others- either on a regular basis or in groups, this makes it pretty simple, without having to go through setting up any services to do so. It also does the same thing as Dropbox, Onedrive, etc, and you can host a file in the public folder on your own account, as you used to be able to with Dropbox.
How does it compare to similar apps
So far, favorably. All of the same functionality, and a little bit more.
Deozaan:
I [...] encountered the one thing that immediately set it apart to me. It created a drive on my machine- a virtual drive that does not store files locally.
[...]
So the 14GB that I have from pCloud shows up as a drive on my PC, but doesn't take up space on my PC.-wraith808 (November 15, 2017, 05:03 PM)
--- End quote ---
Isn't this what OneDrive used to do, then Microsoft removed that feature, and now they've just added it back again last month in the latest version (Fall Creators Update) of Windows 10?
wraith808:
I [...] encountered the one thing that immediately set it apart to me. It created a drive on my machine- a virtual drive that does not store files locally.
[...]
So the 14GB that I have from pCloud shows up as a drive on my PC, but doesn't take up space on my PC.-wraith808 (November 15, 2017, 05:03 PM)
--- End quote ---
Isn't this what OneDrive used to do, then Microsoft removed that feature, and now they've just added it back again last month in the latest version (Fall Creators Update) of Windows 10?
-Deozaan (November 16, 2017, 12:11 AM)
--- End quote ---
I don't know; I've never had a virtual drive installed by OneDrive. A couple of others had the feature but they weren't sync clients exactly. I use OneDrive pretty extensively, and haven't seen that option, but then again, I haven't gone looking for it.
How would you do that in Windows 10?
Stoic Joker:
I [...] encountered the one thing that immediately set it apart to me. It created a drive on my machine- a virtual drive that does not store files locally.
[...]
So the 14GB that I have from pCloud shows up as a drive on my PC, but doesn't take up space on my PC.-wraith808 (November 15, 2017, 05:03 PM)
--- End quote ---
Isn't this what OneDrive used to do, then Microsoft removed that feature, and now they've just added it back again last month in the latest version (Fall Creators Update) of Windows 10?
-Deozaan (November 16, 2017, 12:11 AM)
--- End quote ---
I don't know; I've never had a virtual drive installed by OneDrive. A couple of others had the feature but they weren't sync clients exactly. I use OneDrive pretty extensively, and haven't seen that option, but then again, I haven't gone looking for it.
How would you do that in Windows 10?
-wraith808 (November 16, 2017, 05:10 AM)
--- End quote ---
A virtual drive I've not seen in OneDrive, but it does act as a virtual folder that will let you pick and choose how much of what (if anything) will get synced to the local machine (Account tab--> Choose folders button).
The lack of encryption with OneDrive makes me a bit nervous ... I've been thinking of scrapping mine.
wraith808:
A virtual drive I've not seen in OneDrive, but it does act as a virtual folder that will let you pick and choose how much of what (if anything) will get synced to the local machine (Account tab--> Choose folders button).
The lack of encryption with OneDrive makes me a bit nervous ... I've been thinking of scrapping mine.
-Stoic Joker (November 16, 2017, 06:37 AM)
--- End quote ---
I've seen and make use of that feature- some things I want to sync to the cloud, but don't want to sync to other machines, and I use this to facilitate that use case. As for the encryption bit, most of my use of it doesn't have sensitive information. PDFs, ePubs, Media, and such. For encrypted things that should be secured, I use s3 and encrypt it client side, though it seems like 3.99 a month for pCloud client side encryption would be a more seamless and less manual approach.
And I think Deo was referring to OneDrive Files-on-demand. That's been in there a while, and I've tried using it before, especially because of integration with O365. It seems to use a uri to the file to manipulate it directly in the place you sync to on the server. I've had problems with reconciliation that requires a manual fix, and documents that were supposed to be there and synced, but I can't find anywhere for extended periods of time from another computer.
I haven't tried pCloud on another machine, so maybe it has similar issues. I did use JungleDisk in this manner before they discontinued it for consumers, and it worked flawlessly, so hopefully pCloud will also.
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