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IDrive Photo Storage Review

Review of IDrive Photo Storage

After years of research and development, AT&T developed the first web-based storage solution for personal and corporate communications in the mid-1990s. Since then, there have been a lot of new services that have been popular. Apple iCloud, Amazon Photo Storage, Dropbox, Google and iDrive are among the most popular cloud storage services.

iDrive’s online backup software and storage space for single proprietors and small business owners have been their core emphasis since it launched in 1995. With a background in this sector going back to 1995 you know they were ahead of the pack.

Now that you have heard of IDrive Photo, which is an extension for the IDrive cloud backup storage service. IDrive Photo Storage service offers both desktop and mobile apps that are supported by all operating systems including: Windows, Mac OS, iPad, iOS, and Android. Better yet, both desktop and mobile apps are supported by a strong end-to-end encryption system making the IDrive Photo app the most secure cloud storage service.

Due to this, you can easily access your media files from any device provided you sign in to your IDrive account. Or more to the point, it supports all types of media files making it among the top cloud storage platform.

Well, let’s find out more about IDrive Photo Storage features and benefits if you are looking for a secondary mega storage platform for your media files.

IDrive Photo Storage Service Pricing

IDrive Photo Storage service pricing keeps changing over time. For instance, last year IDrive announced a new IDrive Photos plan that offers unlimited full-resolution media file backup on both Android and iOS devices for just $9.95 per year. Interestingly, you can also get free of cost basic plan that comes with 5GB storage without expiry, but with limited features. You can also upgrade to IDrive Personal plan which comes with two options billed yearly including; 5TB at $59.62 and 10TB at 74.62.

If you want to use IDrive Photos for business purposes, you may opt for Business Plan. With a business plan, you will also get additional features including; priority support, multiple user management, and server backups. Moreover, it has six options offered only for monthly payments. They include:

  • 1.25TB – $49.95/month
  • 2.5TB – $79.95/month
  • 5TB – $149.95/month
  • 12.5TB – $299.95/month
  • 25TB – $589.95/month
  • 50TB – $1159.95/month

Getting Started With IDrive Photos

To get started with the IDrive Photos storage service you must create an account using either Google login or Apple ID. After creating an account, it will provide two options to select for securing your account; a private encryption key or an IDrive-managed key. It is, therefore, advisable to choose the Private encryption key {PEK} option because it will encrypt all your data but be careful IDrive technical team states they cannot decrypt your data under {PEK}. Thus, it is up to you to keep your encryption keys safe. Luckily, they offer a password manager that can help you secure your encryption key even if you forget it.

IDrive Photos UI {User Interface}

IDrive provides a lightweight UI for all devices that is very straightforward to understand and navigate making it user-friendly to novice individuals. The home screen will prompt you with your backed-up media files {photos and videos} organized in dates. Below each file, you will get quick links to help you download your photo or video.

Share Media Files

Swipe left or right to move your photo back and forth. Besides, the UI offers a built-in share button that allows you to share your media files with social platforms and your contacts. However, the IDrive share button is not versatile as other cloud storage platforms like Amazon Photos, Google Photos, or iCloud. To share your media files, simply select the video, audio, photo, and so and tap the built-in share button to share the folder or file. The share button also allows you to set access privileges to the contact or individuals you are sharing the folder or file with. These privileges include: viewing and editing the files.

Search and Syncing Media Files

The search tool is effective and faster when it comes to finding your media files and then down the right side, it offers tabs for Backup, Restore, Sync, and many more. From the backup tab, you can select files and folders as they are organized in a hierarchical file tree design from music, audio, pictures, documents, and so on.


You can also decide to back up your media files manually either hourly or on a daily schedule and get a notification when the backup completes. Or you can set it to begin syncing your folders and files automatically and thus giving you the advantage to sync your files after your cellular network is back online.


Moreover, it offers a sync tab that is like Dropbox which allows you also to create a shared folder. However, the downside of the IDrive sync tab is that it uploads slowly but is efficient at retaining the past versions of the file. If you don’t want to sync all or don’t need certain files to turn on selective sync.

Efficient at Restoring Data

If you want to free up space, in the upper right-hand corner there is the Archive cleanup tool for deleting files stored in the cloud. In fact, IDrive Photos stores file you have deleted locally for 30 days only. Therefore, if you want to recover any files, you must recover them within 30 days before they are permanently deleted from the IDrive cloud storage. Thanks to the iDrive’s Snapshot feature that is capable of preserving up to 30 versions of all files backed to the iDrive Photos.

With the snapshot feature, it allows you to recover your media files anytime you want from the timeline because they are backup in the historical timeline. Nonetheless, this feature also focuses on addressing ransomware concerns. More importantly, the restore tab offers the option to choose the original backup device using the dropdown and then move the folder or file to your devices and use the checkbox to restore them in the specified place.

Unlimited Full-Resolution Media File Storage

Like Amazon Photos, IDrive also has unlimited full-resolution storage for all types of media files. Better yet, plenty of storage capacity from a Private or Business plan gives you the advantage to use IDrive Photos for professional purposes. Meaning, that you can store any media storage regardless of resolution for future reference and use it for professional purposes. Secondly, it doesn’t convert your media files into JPEG format and thus eliminating the burden of converting your media files, unlike Google Photos and iCloud Photos.

IDrive Photo Storage Speed

In the cloud storage platform, we would argue that IDrive Photos is certainly not the fastest cloud storage option. But their speed is both fair and significant when it comes to uploading and downloading files.

IDrive Photo Storage Privacy

When it comes to privacy iDrive Photos performs excellently than the rest of the cloud storage services on the market. That’s because it offers a dedicated Privacy Policy including private encryption and they comply with HIPAA and GDPR. Therefore, all your credentials including payment details, your name, as well as session records, and physical and email addresses are in safe hands against third-party infringement and misuse.

Your information is vital because iDrive utilizes it to help them communicate with users, improve and personalize users’ experience and administer its services. They also do not voluntarily share your personal information with third parties, unless compelled by law enforcement including federal and state laws. And, if your files are protected by an encryption key IDrive will remove them before sharing them with law enforcement.

IDrive Photo Storage Security

IDrive Photos cloud and backup storage service encrypt your data locally on their servers. All the servers are encrypted locally using 256-bit AES by utilizing private keys users create or set by the IDrive service. It even supports 2FA and email-based multifactor authentication to prevent back actors from gaining access unauthorized on both the mobile and web apps.

Nonetheless, IDrive runs periodic third-party reviews of its infrastructure to check vulnerability and ensure that is no threat present like malware. In the event of vandalism or theft, fire, earthquake, and temperature change IDrive states that they have employed extreme measures against such events to maximally safeguard your data.

IDrive Photo Storage Support

Aside from providing excellent privacy and security measures, IDrive cloud storage scores excellently on customer support. That is because it provides everything you need from technical support, quality customer service, and quick response. Therefore, without any doubt, you can get help if you have an urgent matter hand that needs attention. Moreover, there are several ways you can find help including; community support, email, chat support, FAQ section, phone support, and form submission.

However, before you rush to seek support from the help desk, we recommend visiting IDrive’s extensive FAQ section to find out whether your question is answered or not. That is because in the FAQ section they have addressed the most common questions which are also organized in categories for easy search.

IDrive’s chat and phone support are always open 24/7 making convenient your needs, but depending on your time zone it can be problematic to find phone support so try Twitter. Because phone support is only available during scheduled hours. For the IDrive Business plan, users’ phone support won’t be an issue for them because they get access to priority support.

IDrive Photo Storage the Conclusion

Well, from the above review IDrive is the best cloud storage platform if you want to establish professional backup storage. This is because it offers extensive backup options, excellent security, and privacy measures against malware and third-party access. Moreover, it supports all media files formats and retains past versions of your files making it an ideal tool for file recovery. However, it is unreliable when it comes to speed and expensive in the long run because they do not offer an unlimited fixed plan.

For Pros and Cons plus a Price Comparison check out

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