I know there is encryption you can do yourself if needed but I mean if you do not do your own encryption how safe is it ? The big ones. OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc
How likely for the cloud storage to be hacked or anything? The case is for me it does not really matter because I do not really trust cloud storage. If I use it not for anything security sensitive or really important.
Short answer
For ordinary, non-sensitive files, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and similar services are generally reasonably safe when the account is properly secured. Their infrastructure is usually much better protected than a typical personal computer or self-hosted server.
However, “encrypted” does not usually mean that the provider cannot access the files. These services commonly encrypt data in transit and at rest, but the provider generally manages the encryption keys. This means access may be possible for the provider, authorized legal requests, certain internal processes, or anyone who successfully compromises your account.
The more realistic risks
The biggest practical risks are often not a direct attack against the provider’s infrastructure:
- Account takeover through password reuse, phishing, malware, or a compromised email account
- Accidentally sharing a file or folder with the wrong person
- A malicious or compromised computer deleting or encrypting synchronized files
- Loss of access to the account
- Provider outages, service changes, or account suspension
- Privacy concerns involving file contents, filenames, metadata, and activity logs
A large-scale breach of a major provider is possible, but the probability cannot be reliably expressed as a percentage. Major providers invest heavily in security, but no online service is immune to vulnerabilities, insider risk, account compromise, or operational mistakes.
For your stated use case
If the files are not highly sensitive or irreplaceable, using a major cloud provider is usually a reasonable choice. The main precautions should be:
- Use a unique, strong password.
- Enable multi-factor authentication, preferably with an authenticator app or hardware security key.
- Secure the email account used for recovery.
- Review sharing links and connected applications periodically.
- Avoid using “anyone with the link” sharing unless it is genuinely necessary.
- Keep an independent local or external backup of important files.
- Enable version history or recovery features where available, but do not treat them as a complete backup.
For confidential documents, identity records, private keys, sensitive photographs, or information that must remain inaccessible to the provider, use client-side encryption before uploading. That provides stronger privacy, but it introduces an important risk: losing the encryption password or recovery key can make the files permanently inaccessible.
Bottom line
For casual storage and routine file synchronization, the major providers are generally adequate. The most important protections are multi-factor authentication, careful sharing settings, and a separate backup. Cloud storage should be treated as a convenient additional copy, not as the only copy of anything important.
Like anything with enough resources + time you can do anything. Data is never safe once you upload it to the internet or connect your PC.
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