Nextcloud is the next generation open source file storage and file synching platform. It’s similar to Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. The main difference is that you run the software on your own server. This is a perfect solution if you’re worried about mass surveillance. It’s safe enough to place on the cloud. Better yet, you can run it on your local network at home. It behaves somewhat similar to a NAS (Network Attached Storage) but with a better web interface, and a few more apps.
In addition, you can install the client software on your Desktop (PC, MAC and Linux) or to any mobile device (iOS, Android and Windows). The clients automatically sync data to the server software that’s installed on a Linux server. Files can also be accessed using WebDav as well. It has an online office, a video chat feature and Outlook email integration, but I’m not really interested with those additional features. I use it primarily for storage and file synching only. It works great by the way.
Give Nextcloud a try.
Great timing Ul. I need to migrate off my Dropbox account and was looking for something open source and self hosted.
One question. how does it compare (if you know) to just putting a drive on the back of my Asus router and using their cloud app to my hard drive on my router?
Hi Ben, I’m not familiar with the Asus router, but I think it’s probably using Samba and FTP. That means you can access the files from the Windows network. It may require mapping to a network drive. It sounds like you can access it from the cloud as well using their Cloud app. Nextcloud behaves a little differently. It’s very similar to Dropbox. You can access the files directly via the web interface, or you can use the desktop or mobile app. On the desktop, Nextcloud creates a folder similar to a Dropbox. You can add, modify, and delete files. Changes are synched to the server. Other clients that are connected to it will be synched as well. The only downside is, you need a dedicated machine to host Nextcloud. Mine is turned off sometimes. I turn it on when I need the files synched.