Imagine: photography is your deepest passion, and out of your working life you escape time (and space) by going around - capturing unique moments through your camera lens.
Whether it’s street art photos or private family memories, you collect them all on your personal storage device. Years and years of moments, never to be repeated again.
One day, something happens: your hard-drive stops working. Add that your second copy is on Google Photos, which asks for money, all of a sudden - transferring all your backup data becomes a problem.
This is the story of Pierantonio.
In this case study we’ll learn more about him and how he dealt with finding the right private photo storage solution to achieve peace of mind.
From Biology to Coding and the Arts: the eclectic life of Pierantonio
Pierantonio was born in Bologna and has now been working as a software developer (at SkillBill) for over 10 years.
Differently to what you might think, he didn’t follow the mainstream path, graduating instead with a degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Bologna and later with a master’s degree in Bioinformatics in Rome (Sapienza - University of Rome).
But instead of pursuing a career in biology, driven by his passions about tech, innovation and a mindset set to the creative side of things - he became a coder.
“I always try to look at the creative and fun side of things - I put myself in the user's or business owner's shoes”.
This is also what drove him to dive into the world of photography and is also the source of many concerns that really shouldn’t happen in one’s spare time.
A quest for private photo storage to achieve peace of mind
As we’ve said, Pierantonio loves to escape from daily repetitiveness to experiment with creativity in every possible way.
While being a professional developer and consultant, who strictly adopts corporate policies - even in those cases where the tools used aren’t exactly the most secure - he was looking for peace of mind in his personal use.
Noticing that the private photo storage solutions on the market were asking too much money in exchange for very little space (i.e. 9€ monthly for 500GB of storage), he tried to manually encrypt his hard-disks, getting very little flexibility. That’s why Pierantonio got used to storing private documents on Google Drive.
It was a very insecure practice that he was aware of - not allowing him to fully focus on the things that matter. Moreover, not only was he paying with his security, but with money too.
“Privacy and storage space are two big things. Imagine storing all your photos on mainstream clouds “for free” and add in that they ask for monthly fees - all of a sudden. That’s a problem because you have to transfer TBs of data on top of the privacy cost you have to pay”.
So began his search for private photo storage that:
- Had enough space to host large, high-quality photos.
- Would provide him with accessibility to photos and documents anywhere, anytime.
- Offered high reliability in terms of security and privacy.
But he couldn’t find one.
People around him were divided by opinion: some empathized with his concerns, others didn’t care at all, making fun of him instead - “if you are afraid of privacy and security, do not stay on the internet”.
Anyways, it’s true: if you choose to be on the web you have to accept some risks. A thought that Pierantonio fully agrees with.
“You can use the most secure service in the world but if you fall victim to some social engineering attack you lose your data. Of course, it’s not that easy with 2-factor authentication, but putting your hard-drive in a physical safe is not the best solution when it comes to accessibility.”
Related reading: How to protect your privacy online: 5 actionable tips!
That got Pierantonio thinking, and one day, while browsing Indiegogo for innovative startups to back, he found an answer to all his doubts.
An ultra-secure cloud storage to store all your private memories
Just that day on Indiegogo, Pierantonio found a statement from an Italian startup: “a private cloud you only pay once”. Apparently it also claimed to offer complete privacy.
But that’s not all. What really caught his attention was the concept: unlike mainstream cloud storage solutions that store data on a centralized (and polluting) data center, Cubbit architecture is based on a unique zero-knowledge p2p network of nodes made up of its own users - offering maximum levels of security and privacy by design.
“I was a bit skeptical at first: if there are few connected devices, you can't deliver capacity and speed. Anyways, it seemed like a smart concept born in Italy from my hometown Bologna - that’s why I wanted to try it out”
But, while at that point in 2019 the service was a bit rough, update after update offered him first the full space and then gradually improved in speed.
“That’s when I began to adopt Cubbit more and more by uploading my photos and private documents (IDs included) to the cloud and experiencing various benefits.
First of all - with full space - I finally obtained enough storage to save all my street-art photos without worrying about quality compression. All within the one-time fee.
Secondly, with zero-knowledge encryption, no one can access my IDs and confidential documents without my permission.
While everything is protected, I can access my photos and IDs from anywhere, anytime through the web-app. Also considering things like green pass and identity verification, the preview from your mobile is very helpful!
Last but not least, when it comes to disasters and peace of mind (look at what happened to OVH, but also a simple malfunction of your hard-drive) - thanks to this unique distributed p2p network, files on Cubbit can’t be lost.”
On top of that, the possibility to create free cloud space by simply plugging in any unused hard-disks is something he admitted he’s super-excited about when it will be available.
This was Pierantonio’s story. But you shouldn’t trust him - everyone’s got their own personal story. That’s why you have to try Cubbit for yourself, it's free for 30 days — with no credit card required!
Overview
Problems
- If your hard-drive stops working, you lose your private memories.
- Having enough space to store high-quality photos at an affordable price.
- Uploading ID cards and similar documents to the cloud is not always a safe practice.
- Accessing documents and photos from wherever you are.
Solutions
- No matter what happens, your files on Cubbit can't be lost and are always available thanks to the distributed p2p architecture.
- Pay once and enjoy private photo storage for a lifetime. If you change your mind, you get a full refund.
- Thanks to zero-knowledge encryption, no one can access your data without your permission. Not even Cubbit.
- Thanks to the web-app, you can access your photos and IDs from anywhere, anytime.
