Just Tell Me
What is “the cloud”?
A plain-English explanation of where your photos and files actually go when someone says they’re “in the cloud.”
The short answer
“The cloud” simply means your photos, documents or other information are being stored on computers somewhere else instead of only on the device in your hand.
Yes. That’s basically it.
Think of it like this
Imagine everything you own has to fit inside your house.
Eventually, you run out of room.
So you rent a secure storage unit somewhere else.
Your belongings are still yours. They’re just stored somewhere else, and you can go and get them when you need them.
Cloud storage works a bit like that.
Your phone or computer is your house.
The cloud is the storage facility.
Except instead of driving across town to retrieve something, you access it through the internet.
A little more, if you want it
There isn’t one giant thing called The Cloud floating mysteriously above us.
Companies operate enormous buildings full of computers called data centres. Services such as iCloud, Google Drive, Google Photos, OneDrive and Dropbox use computers like these to store people’s information.
This can be useful.
For example, if your phone falls into the ocean while you’re attempting an unusually ambitious holiday photograph, the phone may be gone.
But if your photographs were also safely backed up online, they may not be.
When you sign into your account on a replacement device, you may be able to retrieve them.
Cloud services can also make information available on several devices. Take a photograph on your phone and it might appear automatically on your tablet or computer.
Good to know
Being “in the cloud” doesn’t automatically mean something is backed up.
This catches people out.
Some services sync information between your devices rather than creating an independent backup. Delete something in one place and it may disappear everywhere.
That’s why it’s worth understanding exactly what your particular service is doing before trusting it with irreplaceable photographs or documents.
Cloud storage can also have a limit. Once you’ve used your free allowance, the provider may offer additional storage for a monthly or annual fee.
And because you access cloud services through an account, a strong password and two-factor authentication are important.