Looking for non-US cloud storage. The more paranoid the better!
Syncthing for synchronization between devices, then rsync to a couple of flash drives for cold backup.
The setup is so easy, you don’t even need a server for this, just your ordinary PC.
There is no more paranoid solution than owning your files on the devices you own as well, so you never have to trust the third party.
Additionally, clunky all-in-one self-hosted solutions like Nextcloud bind you to their ecosystem, so it may be hard for you to switch to another one.
Just a plain file backup to your own storage will always be a savior for your lost data, regardless of third party apps or infrastructure.
Others have suggested: encrypt data on your side and you don’t need to worry about where you store it. Cryptomator is a good option.
As for storage, the feedback on Hetzner boxes seems to be good and i’m happy with mega.What about hetzner storeagebox? https://www.hetzner.com/de/storage/storage-box/ with client side encryption ? It’s cheap and reliable, supports all common file transfer methods - the encryption can and likely should anyway be done by your preferred backup tool?
Borg Base offers EU based server locations. They have been awesome to work with.
I can recommend Hetzner Storage Boxes. The company is located in Germany, but you can choose server locations in Germany and in Finland. You can set it up with Rclone’s Crypt feature to encrypt all your files.
I’ve been using Hetzner boxes for my backups, although I did need to send them a copy of my id, which may or may not fit the paranoia thing.
Of course, encryption is always worth it.
TIL rclone can encrypt. Storage box also supports borg if someone prefers. Borg is cool. It also deduplicates the archive saving a lot of space.
Just use client-side encryption, then it doesn’t matter where it goes
Kopia is great for this. Choose your encryption, built in support for different provider storage tyoes in the GUI to choose where to go, dedupe, folder structure scramble, etc…
But their flatpak hasn’t been updated in ages…
https://ihostart.com/ one of the cheapest I know.
https://ardrive.io/ for a permanent, encrypted, decentralized, blockchain based solution.
A raspberry pi hidden in a wall behind a power socket or in some always plugged in appliance like a fridge or tv at some place with wifi or a phone with a data plan connected to a portable solar charger set up on some roof or tree.
Not pricey, e2ee clients, open source, servers in Germany, 10gb free tier to try them out. Been using them for a few years now. The clients used to be a bit crap but they’re very good now.
Then don’t go to the cloud! (or use encrypted storage if you really have to)
My view: Unless I can access the hardware 24/7/365 the data isn’t mine for ‘they’ can deny me access to my data anytime while they keep full access. (hence store it decryped)
A hard drive in a PO Box; data encrypted. Retrieve it occasionally to sync it with your local storage.
Or family.
This is good, if they:
-
- Understand & trust what you’re doing and don’t fiddle with it
-
- Don’t understand and just don’t fiddle with it
Luckily I have a family member that fits one of those categories.
I completely get the paranoia component of needing to control all factors involved. I have that too regarding my data. But at some point trust is needed.
PO boxes can burn down. The power grid can fry everything. Even the backup as soon as you plug it in. The government can create a kind of gestapo and let them loose and you won’t have the right to run a server anyways (uh?). Etc…
-






