Icedrive Review (2021) – Why I Bought IceDrive? 7 Pros & 5 Cons

About Icedrive

ID Cloud Services Ltd, a company based in Wales, United Kingdom, is the owner of Icedrive. Launched in January 2019, it is still a very new player in the cloud storage market. 

But the steady pace at which it is growing and improving is what makes it a tough competitor for other popular cloud storage services.

The need of the hour is online security & privacy. This is where Icedrive jumps in. An interesting thing to note here is that it calls itself a ‘Privacy oriented company’. We will find out later if this statement holds any truth or not!

IceDrive Free Storage

Icedrive features a free plan, plus very affordable premium plans! With a free Icedrive account, you get 10 GB of free cloud space, which is quite amazing! 

Unlike pCloud, it does not employ a reward system for unlocking storage space on completing tasks like installing the desktop app, etc. Icedrive is a pretty straightforward service.

If you sign up for a free account using your email, you get the entire 10 GB space with no hidden demands! 

The only downside is that Icedrive doesn’t provide a free trial with any of its paid plans. However, to make up for that, they offer a 14-days money-back guarantee! 

Speed

In my tests, Icedrive offers some really appreciable speeds for a cloud storage service. I tried to upload and download an 885 MB video file on Icedrive, and these are the results I received.

• Upload Time: 1 min 51 sec

• Download Time: 1 min 15 sec

I saw the same results while uploading and downloading with zero knowledge encryption.

For this IceDrive review all speed tests were done from India and my iceDrive server is in Europe.

I have used various cloud services including India’s DigiBoxx and I can say IceDrive is fast. It gives Better speeds than DigiBoxx and Sync.

Data Centers

The Data Centers of Icedrive are in Europe and the United States. The European servers are good from the speed and privacy point. But unlike pCloud, you don’t get to choose your server location with Icedrive.

They will auto select the server for you.

Zero-Knowledge Encryption

Zero Knowledge Encryption basically means that nobody can read or access your stored data except you. Without your master password no one can decrypt your data.

Icedrive offers a Zero Knowledge Encryption with all its paid plans, which does not cost you any extra charges! Unlike pCloud.

This feature provides you an encrypted space secured with a passcode to store all your sensitive data. You can find all the encrypted files under the ‘Encrypted’ tab.

What’s unique about Icedrive is that it lets you decide what data you wish to protect with encryption. You get both encrypted and normal storage space.

I personally use normal storage space for things which require frequent access. Encrypted storage is used for sensitive and private data.

Versioning

Versioning feature lets you preview, restore, and download the previous versions of your files. This is helpful in case your file gets accidentally changed, edited or deleted. You can restore it to any of its previous versions with a single click! 

I did not find any versioning limits with Icedrive. It indefinitely stores all the previous versions of your files consuming no cloud space! 

You should keep in mind that Icedrive is new and they will add some limitations in versioning. As of now there is no limit.

This is really cool, considering that pCloud only offers a 30 days versioning limit.

Trash

The Trash tab holds all your deleted files and folders. Unlike many other cloud storage services, the Icedrive Trash folder has no limit. All your deleted items would remain there unless you delete them permanently. 

An important thing to note is that the space occupied by the deleted files is included in the total storage. Meaning trash space is included in your total storage. So if you are running out of storage space, clearing your trash bin will help! 

Sync

IceDrive doesn’t provide sync folder but it have the option to sync any folder on your hard disk. Using the IceDrive virtual drive, you can select folders from your devices to sync with the cloud.

Sadly, there are no block-level sync or selective sync features available! 

You can find syncing options in its mobile apps for auto-uploading photos, videos and files. 

IceDrive is not the best when it comes to Sync. In my opinion pCloud or Sync does a better job as of now.

Virtual Drive

The Icedrive Virtual Drive can be accessed when you install its software and mount the drive.

You can effortlessly sync any folder from your computer to the cloud storage using its desktop application. Icedrive also lets you specify the sync direction, i.e., if you change any data in the synced folder, should the changes be made:

• Only on the local folder 
• Only on the Icedrive cloud
• Both locally and on the cloud

I personally like IceDrive sync direction feature a lot. Everyone should implement this.

The best part is that this virtual drive does not take up any space on your device. It only consumes a brief space to store the recently used files in its cache to avoid any slowdowns.

Icedrive truly works like an external hard drive attached to your computer! But you need an Internet connection in order to operate it.

User Interface

The interface of Icedrive is one of the best interfaces I have ever seen on any Cloud Storage.

It is very easy to use with modern interface. Sharing options is easy to use and identification of already shared data is also effortless.

Interface is so simple that I can even recommend it to my Dad.

The design and color theme of Icedrive is very pleasing! Also, the polar bear logo is adorable, right?

• All the tabs are neatly arranged on the left sidebar for easy access.
• You get the File management and customization options on the top.
• The sorting features and list/grid view are available on the right.

This is a very well-organized interface. It is easy to use, decent and simple! A drag-and-drop upload feature makes it even more convenient. Plus, you can also change the colors of your uploaded folders, which reminds me of Notion. 

Devices

Icedrive has dedicated desktop apps for Windows, MAC, and Linux; Mobile apps for Android and iOS, and a web interface that works pretty smoothly on all the major browsers. 

The mobile app has a lovely and clean interface, and has integrated players for all document types, audio and video files. 

It comprises handy features like automatic backup, password protection, marking files for offline access, and dark mode.

Overall, my experience on all the devices was very satisfying. 🙂

Customer Service

Icedrive does not have live chat or phone support features.You can contact them with your queries through an email ticket system where the average response time is two days! 

So, yes, the support is a bit slow, but I found their replies to be quite informative, kind and positive. 

You can also find short but informative FAQ style articles on their Help Center to solve your basic queries.

Sharing

I found the Sharing options to be quite limited in Icedrive. If you sign up with a free account, you get the basic sharing and collaboration options like adding an email or sending a public link. (The user must have an Icedrive account in order to collaborate.)

 

However, with the premium plans, you get some more advanced features like setting the link expiration limit. This is helpful when you only want the shared data to be present on the web for a limited amount of time.

For an added layer of security to your shared data, Icedrive also lets you set a passcode to protect your links from being accessible to outsiders. It is good for sharing something with a limited audience.

Icedrive does lack some important features like the Upload using Links feature, which lets any non-Icedrive user upload data on your shared folder through a link. 

Also, there is no dedicated tab featuring all the files, folders and links shared with/by me. Though it comes with a simple icon on top of the folder indicating it is being shared.

There’s a small icon on the files showing if they were shared. Honestly, pCloud is much better when it comes to Sharing!

Documents

Icedrive lets you view all file types including word documents, presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, audios, videos, etc. But the catch is, you cannot edit them in the web version. 

It does not have any integrated editing apps.

With the desktop application, you can edit your files with the native apps on your device and when you click on Save, your file will automatically be re-uploaded to the cloud.

Means if you want to edit .doc file, then you can install IceDrive desktop app and then the doc file will automatically open using your editor like MS Word.
Once you close the file it will automatically be re-uploaded on cloud.

Playback Features

It has integrated players for playing audios and videos internally on the web version itself. 

Though there are very few customization options available here, it’s pretty decent.

WebDAV Access

This is an interesting feature for developers. Using this, you can access your Icedrive storage by installing no software on your device.

They were going to remove it previously, but guess it’s going to continue!

Security

Icedrive calls itself a ‘Privacy Oriented Company’ which is true, because it uses the TwoFish client-side Encryption protocol for encrypting its users’ files in place of AES 256-bit, which is the industry standard. 

Client-side encryption means encrypting all your files before transferring them from your local device to the Icedrive servers.

Wondering why have they used the Twofish encryption? They believe that because it is a lesser known protocol, it would guarantee an enhanced security, mainly because hackers are unfamiliar with it. 

Zero Knowledge Encryption is also there for private and sensitive data.

Biggest con with their security is no 2 Factor Authentication.

According to me, being a privacy-focussed company, Icedrive should have added 2FA and MFA features to their cloud storage service.

Hope they will implement it in the coming days.

Privacy Policy

Their Privacy Policy is very transparent. They do not share any of your data and don’t make use of Google Analytics either. 

Apart from this, Icedrive is completely GDPR compliant, so you have the option to download or erase all of your data possessed by them. I found these privacy measures very reassuring.

Pricing

Icedrive offers some really advanced features at very affordable prices starting from just $1.67/month! Apart from their monthly and yearly plans, they also have their lifetime plans that are 100% value for your money.

Check out their Annual plans below!

But, what I find the most attractive are their Lifetime plans. Users can easily recover the entire amount spent within the first 3-4 years. Check out their Lifetime plans. 

Other than this, they also offer a 14-days money-back guarantee on all the premium plans!

Pros

Icedrive offers lots of exceptional features, giving a neck-to-neck competition to other popular cloud storage services.

1. Clean Interface

It offers a clean, appealing, and organized user interface

2. Speed

Upload and Download speeds of icedrive is truly outstanding. I live in India and I’m getting good speeds from IceDrive. With or without zero knowledge encryption.

3. Privacy

IceDrive is having good security and privacy standards. It is also completely GDPR compliant, which makes its privacy policy very reliable!

4. Affordable Pricing

Starting at just $1.67/month, makes it clearly one of the cheapest & reliable cloud storage services. IceDrive is my recommendation if you are looking for cheap cloud storage option.

5. No Add-Ons

Unlike pCloud Storage Icedrive has no add-ons. You don’t need to pay extra charges for availing the zero-knowledge encryption or any other features.  

6. Versioning

Provides unlimited versioning for documents.

7. Fast Development

IceDrive is new and hence have a roadmap of the features that they are planning to introduce. I am following them since their AppSumo LTD Deal and I’m really impressed by their development rate.

Cons:

1. No Selective Sync

Syncing options like Selective Sync and Block-level Sync are not available. pCloud & Sync does have better selective sync options.

2. No 2FA

2 Factor Authentication is still not available. It’s a huge bummer for me.

3. Bugs

They are still new in the business and some bugs are still present in IceDrive desktop App.

4. No Free Trails

They do not offer any free trials. (But they offer a 14-days money-back guarantee)

5. Basic Sharing Options

It doesn’t have advance sharing option like pCloud & Sync. Link analytics are not available, like how many users clicked on the link, how many downloaded the shared data, etc.
Upload links cannot be shared that means other users cannot upload to your folder without registration.

So, now we arrive to the key question, which is:

Should you buy Icedrive?

Icedrive is a pretty new to the cloud storage market right now. But they have still provided some advanced features at an affordable price.

Along with a beautiful and responsive interface, they also focus on the privacy of their users. Icedrive deserves an applause for implementing all of these features in such a brief span of time!

If you have never used a Cloud storage service before and need a budget-friendly Cloud storage with good privacy, fast speeds, and an easy-to-use interface, then you can go with Icedrive.

But if you can hike up your budget, and require a complete cloud storage solution with all the advanced features, then I suggest you choose pCloud. I recently reviewed pCloud Cloud Storage as well. Check out the detailed review video. 

You might also use a combination of Icedrive and pCloud to get the best of both worlds. That is what I prefer for myself! 

Anyway, I hope you liked this review article and hope it helps you purchase the best cloud storage for your requirements. What other topics do you want me to cover? Let me know in the comments section below.

Also, if you enjoy reading my blogs and wish to stay updated with the latest posts, then subscribe to my Newsletter. This is Kripesh signing off! Take care and keep learning, guys. I’ll see you in the next article. 

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