2.5. Tools
Even though many cloud storage services are available, we would recommend analyzing the different options available to determine which one suits one’s needs best. Our choice will be based, mainly, on the kind of files to be stored, the security level expected, the need (or lack thereof) to share data with other users and the kind of devices used to access the files and edit them. Besides, the users’ degree of digital literacy will also need to be taken into account, as several services are easier to use than others.
Four of the most popular free cloud storage services are described below:
Dropbox. It was created more than a decade ago, which makes it one of the “senior” remote storage services. It currently has over five hundred million users. It is available as a desktop application or as a mobile device application (iOS, Android or Windows), in seventeen languages.
Dropbox Offers 2 GB of free storage (in its “basic” version), which may be increased up to 16GB (also for free) if the Dropbox account is linked to social networks and friends are invited to join the service.
More information on using Dropbox may be found at: https://help.dropbox.com/en-en.
Google Drive. Google Drive is included in all Android devices, but it is also a widespread service in other platforms. Besides, it is closely linked to Gmail, its e-mail client. Since it appeared in 2012, more than eight hundred million users have registered with this storage service. It is available as a desktop application and as a mobile device application, in sixty-eight languages. Since the end of 2017, an application (“Backup and Sync”) may be downloaded to enable the user to select several folders in the local hard drive to be automatically synchronized with folders stored in the Drive space, which greatly facilitates creating backups. Google Drive offers 15 GB of free storage.
More information on using Google Drive may be found at: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2424384?hl=en.
OneDrive. OneDrive (previously known as SkyDrive) is a Microsoft cloud storage service. For this reason, it may be accessed from the web and is also included in the Windows 10 file explorer. This makes it possible to synchronize files stored in the local hard disk and files stored in the cloud storage system. This service is also linked to Outlook, Microsoft’s e-mail client. It is available as a desktop application and as a mobile device application (iOS, Android or Windows), in one hundred and seven languages. In addition, more than one hundred and fifteen million users have used their services since it was launched in 2007. OneDrive offers 5GB of free storage capacity.
More information on using OneDrive may be found at: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us.
Box. This cloud storage service was created in 2005, even before Dropbox was. Nevertheless, it has never had Dropbox’s wide popularity. In any case, this service makes it possible to share stored content and to work cooperatively in a very easy manner. It is available as a desktop application or as an application for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Windows or BlackBerry), in Spanish and in other 8 languages as well. Box offers 10GB of free storage capacity.
More information on using Box may be found at: https://community.box.com/t5/Box-Community/ct-p/English.
The main features of the four storage services described above are summarized in the table below:
| Dropbox | Google Drive | OneDrive | Box | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon |  |
 |
 |
 |
| Free storage space | 2 GB | 15 GB | 5 GB | 10 GB |
| File size limit | 20 GB | 5 GB | 10 GB | 250 MB (free version) |
| Server location | USA and Ireland | All over the world | All over the world | All over the world |