Free online storage

Storing your photos, videos, documents and other files online can free up many GBs of space, yet still allow you to access and view them on your smartphone, tablet or computer. 

Once you've registered then downloaded and installed any relevant software or app, you can either back up files manually or adjust the settings so that certain folders (such as the one you keep your photos in, for example) are backed up automatically. You can then delete backed up files from your device to free up space.

You can also access your files via your web browser by logging into your online storage account at the relevant company's website. 

Most services let you share your photos, videos and documents with friends and family by generating special links too.

Below we list the top free online storage options, including where's best to store photos at higher resolution. There's no limit to the number you can use – so depending on how much space you need you could sign up for them all and grab 35GB+ of storage for free.

One of the main things to consider when it comes to using cloud storage is security, as you are relying on the service to keep your files secure. If your account is hacked, there's a chance any files stored there could be stolen and used for the likes of identity theft, so always weigh up the risks before uploading anything that contains sensitive info.

Cloud storage companies typically use encryption to keep your information safe and two-step verification to ensure the right person has access to the account.

Encryption scrambles your data so that anyone unauthorised is unable to get to it. The strength of the encryption is at three levels, starting at 128-bit, rising to 192-bit and with 256-bit as the most secure. Two-step verification involves sending a notification or text message to your mobile phone that will ask you to respond or enter a code when logging in or amending your account to prove you're the authorised account holder.

See below for our full help on how to keep your account secure.

The level of storage you'll need depends on what you'll be using it for. If you typically only back up documents and emails, then 5GB will be plenty for most. If you want to back up photos, music or videos then you'll probably need more.

It's impossible to estimate exactly how many files you can store in a set allowance, since it very much depends on the resolution of your photos/videos and quality of your music files.

As a general rule of thumb, 10GB should allow for about 2,500 high-resolution photos, about an hour of full-HD video OR 2,500 songs.

As Google Drive uses your Google account login details, it's important you keep these safe. Google offers some top tips on making your account more secure.

With Google Drive covering three services, consider how to make the most of the free space so you don't have to buy more. Try converting PDFs to Google Docs documents and giving your Gmail inbox a spring clean. It's also worth clearing out your Google Drive trash as deleted files in there will continue to take up space.
 

Box offers the ability to share files securely via links with passwords, expiration dates and restricted download access, as well as assign tasks, edit simultaneously with others and leave comments. This makes it particularly useful if you store and access files for collaborative work regularly.
 

You can share OneDrive folders by creating a link. These folders are then visible to anyone you share the link with. You can set an expiry date for the links so shared folders are only visible to others for a specified period.
 

iCloud requires an iPhone on iOS 16 or later, an iPad on iOS 16 or later or an iPod touch iOS 15 or later; a Mac with macOS Ventura 13 or later; a PC with Windows 10 or later.

Additional iCloud features include Family Sharing – which allows up to six family in total to share Apple Music, Apple TV+, App Store purchases and photos – and Find My, which lets you track it down and remotely lock your Apple device in the event it's lost or stolen.
 

An optional automatic backup feature saves any existing photos and videos on your device. Once activated, this function will also save every photo or video you capture with your phone from then on.

Google Photos organises and sorts your photos for you by date and location, and allows you to search through them by people, places, image type and more. It also automatically generates 'highlights' showing you selected photos from a year before, two years before and so on.

The 'Utilities' section allows you to create movies, animations and collages using your photos, while Google Assistant, a virtual helper, will suggest what photos to archive and rotate, and even when to adjust the lighting of individual shots.
 

Flickr is very much geared towards sharing photos with others, which is one of the reasons it's popular with photography nuts. It also offers very basic image editing and a few filters (though nothing like the scale of Instagram).

As with Google Photos, Flickr uses image recognition technology to arrange photos for easier searching through your library. Equally the Flickr apps also have an automatic backup feature so every shot you taken is saved in the cloud, but this is only available to Flickr Pro members.