At GizmoGIGA, we take pride in being scavengers of special deals for our readers. And what time could be more suitable for deals than Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While we are still busy finding best offers for laptops, gaming consoles, smartphones, cameras and other gadgets, we thought it was a good idea to share a deal too good to be missed.
As we gather more and more data, it’s hard to keep a backup in a reliable manner. Although external storage is getting considerably cheaper, it’s always a good idea to keep at least one more copy of all your data. With many cloud storage players now a days offering affordable plans, it has become an ideal option to store a copy of all your personal and professional data in the cloud.
And of course, the privacy of your data is important, too. Because your data is valuable and many cloud companies don’t hold much reputation when it comes to privacy and security, we prefer a company that offers zero-knowledge end-to-end encrypted cloud storage. In this deal today, we are recommending one such cloud storage company that’s offering huge amount of data at a discounted rate for a short time.
Icedrive End-to-end Encrypted Cloud Storage At A Glance
Icedrive is a cloud storage solution by Wales-based ID Cloud Services LTD launched in 2019. A fairly new cloud storage provider, Icedrive is clear about its intended customer-base – users conscious about the privacy of their data stored in the cloud. By offering cloud storage with zero-knowledge end-to-encryption at affordable rates, Icedrive is trying to become an ideal choice of users who put privacy first.
Icedrive’s most attractive feature as you might have already guessed, is encryption. The cloud provider uses Twofish encryption algorithm instead of commonly-used AES that is touted as ‘trusted’ by governments agencies. Icedrive’s approach to choosing Twofish over AES is simple: Would you take health advice from McDonald’s? And because it’s end-to-end encrypted, data is encrypted before it leaves your device, is transmitted to cloud over TLS and is stored encrypted at rest – leaving no opportunity for someone to snoop on your data.
Making its encryption even stronger selling point, Icedrive makes it zero-knowledge meaning the company doesn’t hold your decryption keys. Users are responsible for keeping their keys private and secure and if you forget the key, you will lose access to the data. In simple terms, that’s how ‘zero-knowledge’ encryption works. Keys are generated client-side without being passed to Icedrive’s servers, making it impossible for the provider to read the data. Everything in your cloud gets encrypted – even the file names. So even if someone gets access to your data, they will not be able to put it to use without your decryption key.
Icedrive has handy apps for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux. There is a web interface, too. All apps are responsive and extremely easy to use. You can preview files without downloading them offline. For regular uploads, Icedrive mobile apps support ‘auto upload’ and ‘auto camera upload’ so you can rest assured that your data is always uploaded to the cloud as long as your device is connected to the internet.
For Windows users, Icedrive has a virtual drive app that lets you work on your files without needing to download them. It works as so-called ‘mounted storage’ just like you are working with offline files. Mac users should get this feature early next year but they can use Icedrive’s regular app to keep their data in sync.
If you prefer to access cloud data using WebDAV, you will be glad to learn Icedrive supports it.
Checkout more Icedrive features
Icedrive Plans and Cyber Weekend Deal
As said before, Icedrive’s selling point is robust storage at affordable rates. Its 150GB plan costs $19.99, 1TB plan costs $49.99 and 5TB plan costs $179.99 – if paid yearly.
It’s always a good idea to go for a lifetime plan instead of having to pay monthly or yearly charges. Icedrive offers 150GB plan for $59, 1TB plan for $149 and 5TB plan for $499 – to be paid only once. That’s massive savings and a peace of mind because you will get the said storage for life that’s essentially cheaper than a decent external SSD of the same size.
While Icedrive’s plans – especially lifetime ones – are already lucrative, there seems to be a gap between 1TB and 5TB plans. To fill this gap, the cloud provider is offering a 2TB plan now but only for limited period.
During the Cyber Weekend, Icedrive is bringing a special 2TB lifetime plan for just $229. This is a great value for money for those who find 5TB plan a bit too much. For a one time payment of $229, you get lifetime 2TB storage with zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption – that’s a deal too good to be true. And of course, all features remain the same.
All Icedrive plans come with a 14-days money back guarantee. So if you don’t think Icedrive is for you, you claim your refund. There’s also a free plan but that comes with limitations – most importantly, without end-to-end encryption.
Icedrive Cloud Storage: Things to Keep in Mind
- Icedrive is a zero-knowledge end-to-end encrypted cloud storage. Always keep your recovery key in a safe place. Use a password manager that itself is protected by a strong password you can remember. As an alternative, you can print it on paper and keep it somewhere safe. This is not a limitation. It’s just how ‘zero-knowledge’ encryption works.
- Files in Encrypted folder can not be shared currently because that would mean passing over your decryption key to anyone you share your data with. If your primary use for cloud is to keep backups, this might not be a disadvantage for you. You can always share unencrypted files. Icedrive is working on a feature that will allow users to create public ‘crypto boxes’ with separate keys inside encrypted storage, allowing you to share these files without revealing your primary decryption key.
- Like most cloud providers, Icedrive limits data transfer bandwidth – although it’s generous enough to provide more bandwidth than actual storage instead of capping it to the size of your plan.
- Icedrive does not support two-factor authentication at the moment but says it should be ready ‘very soon.’ Using a password manager to generate and remember a strong password is always recommended even with two-factor authentication.
Icedrive Zero-knowledge Cloud Deal: Summary
For those conscious about the privacy of their data in the cloud, a zero-knowledge end-to-end encrypted cloud is perfect match. While there are companies like Google and Microsoft offering clouds even for free up to a point, a privacy conscious user knows there’s a compromise to make when something is free or extremely cheap.
Being a new company, Icedrive is focusing on attaining a reliable customer base. To achieve so, the cloud company is offering generous encrypted storage at affordable rates. What makes its price even more attractive is the lifetime plan where you pay only once and get to keep huge storage as long as you like. Not only it saves money, it also makes sure you will not lose your data in case you fail to renew your subscription.
With a limited period 2TB for life plan for just $229, Icedrive’s rate has gone even better. This offer is available starting now and being a GizmoGIGA reader, you are probably the first one to know about it – even before Icedrive officially announces it!
Go ahead, checkout Icedrive’s features, plans and this secret limited period deal (until now).
Checkout Icedrive website for more information
