File sync and backup privacy ratings
Tools for syncing and backing up files.
19 file sync and backup are rated against 4 public criteria, and 19 have enough evidence for a letter grade. Of the 10 with a known jurisdiction, 4 are based in a Five Eyes country, and 8 in the wider Fourteen Eyes.
Open-source file sync and backup only · Criteria for this category · Suggest an addition · Markdown
| Name | Grade | Score | Data | Jurisdiction | Open source | No trackers or telemetry | No ads or data sales | Independent audit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Self-hosted personal cloud written in TypeScript and Deno, with files, notes, photos, contacts and calendar. A lighter alternative to Nextcloud and ownCloud. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Deduplicating command-line backup program with compression and authenticated encryption. Backs up to local disks or remote servers over SSH. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Backup app for the GNOME desktop that schedules encrypted, incremental backups to local drives, network servers or cloud storage, using restic or duplicity. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Backup app for the GNOME desktop built on BorgBackup, with scheduled, deduplicated and encrypted backups to local drives or remote repositories. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Command-line backup program with deduplication and end-to-end encryption. Backs up to local disks, SFTP, REST servers and cloud storage such as S3, Backblaze B2 and Azure. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Open source, peer-to-peer continuous file synchronization between two or more devices. Data is encrypted in transit and never stored on a central server. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | Sweden Fourteen Eyes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Desktop front end for BorgBackup that schedules backups, browses archives and restores files. Works with local drives, SSH servers and hosted Borg repositories. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Cloud storage for offsite backups, accessed over SSH with standard tools such as rsync, SFTP, rclone, restic and Borg. Accounts are stored on ZFS with snapshots. |
Grade B | 75 | 100% | United States Five Eyes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial |
Self-hosted collaboration platform for file sync and sharing, with desktop and mobile clients plus apps for calendar, contacts, office documents and chat. Supports optional server-side and end-to-end encryption. |
Grade C | 65 | 100% | Germany Fourteen Eyes | Yes | Partial | Yes | No |
Hosted backup storage for BorgBackup and restic repositories, with append-only mode, monitoring alerts and a choice of EU or US storage regions. |
Grade D | 50 | 100% | Malta Outside Eyes | Partial | Partial | Yes | No |
Backup client with deduplication, compression and AES-256 encryption, managed through a web interface. Stores backups on local disks, SFTP, WebDAV and many cloud storage services. |
Grade D | 50 | 100% | United States Five Eyes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Backup tool with a command-line interface and a desktop app, offering deduplication, compression and end-to-end encryption. Stores snapshots on local disks, SFTP, WebDAV and cloud storage. |
Grade D | 50 | 100% | – | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Self-hosted file sync and sharing platform from ownCloud, written in Go without a database. Offers web access, desktop and mobile sync clients, and spaces for team folders. |
Grade D | 40 | 100% | Germany Fourteen Eyes | Yes | No | Partial | No |
Command-line program to sync, copy and mount files on more than 70 cloud storage services, with optional client-side encryption through its crypt backend. |
Grade D | 40 | 100% | – | Yes | No | Partial | No |
Self-hosted file sharing and collaboration platform written in Go, with web access, sync clients and fine-grained access rules. Developed by Pydio, now part of Wire. |
Grade F | 35 | 100% | France Nine Eyes | Partial | No | Yes | No |
Self-hosted file sync and sharing platform. Files are grouped into libraries that can be synced, shared, and individually protected with client-side encryption. |
Grade F | 35 | 100% | China Outside Eyes | Partial | No | Yes | No |
Automatic cloud backup service for Windows and Mac computers with unlimited storage, file versioning and restores by download or mailed drive. An optional private encryption key keeps data unreadable to Backblaze. |
Grade F | 30 | 100% | United States Five Eyes | No | No | Yes | Partial |
Folder comparison and synchronization tool for backups and mirroring, with two-way sync, versioning and batch jobs. Syncs local drives, network shares, FTP, SFTP, MTP and Google Drive. |
Grade F | 15 | 100% | – | Partial | No | No | No |
Peer-to-peer file synchronization app that syncs folders directly between devices without storing files on a central server. Made by Resilio, now part of Nasuni. |
Grade F | 10 | 100% | United States Five Eyes | No | No | Partial | No |
Questions
What is the most private option among file sync and backup?
No pick has been made yet. The table above is sorted by score, based on public evidence.
How are file sync and backup rated?
Each entry answers 4 questions: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and independent audit. Answers need links to evidence. See the full criteria.
Does jurisdiction matter?
Jurisdiction decides which laws can compel a provider to hand over data. Each entry shows its country and whether it is in the Five, Nine or Fourteen Eyes. The data a provider can hand over depends mostly on what it stores and who holds the keys. Read about jurisdictions and the CLOUD Act.