It really is a challenge sometimes to remember that this is just a digital-productivity newsletter and not a general-tech-related one, because boy has this week been interesting with the whole GameStop situation (BTW: 💎🙌).

If you've been alive for a decade (and I really hope you have), you'll have come across at least 5 different clouds (digital clouds, not actual clouds-- those don't actually exist). 

You have Google Drive, Amazon Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, Box, and the list really goes on for a while. But with so many options, which one is truly worth it?

Now, I must confess something. 

I pay for iCloud because I'm in the Apple ecosystem and it's easy on my devices if I store my photos and app-documents in the cloud. I use Google Drive and Box for work-related items because it's easier to share with my co-workers. I used Dropbox a long time ago to store photos from my older phones, and so on. However... knowing all that you know now about my storage-habits, I still have to go with MEGA as my top storage application.

Since the theme of The Tech-Letter as of late has been privacy, know that MEGA falls perfectly in this category. 

This, is a free cloud-storage app (with other features) that has not only made it easy for me to store all sorts, and quantities, of files and documents, but also made it easy for me to transfer stuff back and forth between devices. And if you decide to pay for upgraded features (which I don't), it's significantly cheaper than the rest. Let's talk features.

For starters, you have the actual storage element of it. 

Once you join MEGA, you automatically get up to 50GB for free. I am going to need you to read that again because no one else offers 50 gigabytes of storage for free. And now read that one last time. Note that the iPhone 12's lowest available storage is 64GB, and you have to pay $999 for it. 

You can store all sorts of files (images, videos, applications), you can categorise them, lock them (for an added layer of security), send links to others to access files without needing them to sign up (I've actually done that on this newsletter a couple times already), and so on. This is true for all your devices (website, MacBook, Windows, Linux, iOS app, Android app).

There's end-to-end encryption. What does this mean? No one can access your files other than you, not even MEGA itself. Everything is locked with a digital key (encryption), so regardless of if you're accessing something for yourself or sending a file to someone else, there's no way a third party can gain access without your consent.

A running tech-letter theme: Collaboration. Similar to Google Drive, you can collaborate on your files with others. Share files (even if they don't have a MEGA account), lock files to be accessed by only certain individuals, a text-editor for real-time editing between users (like a Google Doc), and fast synchronisation. 

This is a bit odd to me, but there's even a texting feature. I rather still use Signal, but if it's convenient to you (specially while collaborating), MEGA even has a secure communication feature that lets you call and message others. Absolutely all of this is encrypted by the way, which means your messages and conversations are as private and safe as they could be. If needed, you can even have groupchats, video/phone calls, and more.

And now... for my absolute favourite part: MEGASync.

Other than the free 50 gigs, this might be the only thing that convinced me to use MEGA. We live in a time where (for many of us), our entire lives are held in the digital atmosphere. And by this I don't mean you're addicted to technology, I mean all of your data is in tech. Your work documents, school stuff, photos, applications, data, and so on. Tomorrow if I didn't have my phone or laptop with me, I'd genuinely be lost because I don't write stuff down on paper anymore (character flaw, let's move on).

This is why backups are so important. I've been a victim (more often than I'd like to admit) of losing data quite a few times. Backups have saved my life (not literally, but close). So here's where MEGASync comes in. Once you download the free MacBook/ Windows/ or Linux app (*note, you do not have to as there is a web version as well, this is just for the sync feature), you're able to configure it so that your entire laptop/computer is constantly backed up to the cloud.

Tomorrow if my laptop goes missing and I had to get another one, I could restore all of my data (which is a lot) with just a few clicks-- this is a game changer for me. What makes it better is that since MEGA is constantly n-sync (haha, music joke), I can open up the app on my phone, or visit the website, or log-in through another country whenever, and access any of my folders where all of my data is saved. 

Being able to back up my data constantly, and share between devices at any given time, has increased my productivity rate massively. 

So to sum up, you have a free cloud-storage app that offers up to 50GB, collaborative features, secure communication, and real-time and constant syncing between devices. I couldn't ask for more, can you?