When we wrote about the new Windows Live SkyDrive a few weeks ago I was surprised to see them launch with 5GB of storage. It was anticipated that Microsoft would only deliver 2GB of storage, but they obviously changed their minds for the better. What shocked me even more, however, was a comment by Leland regarding a service called ADrive. They offer a whopping 50GB of storage at absolutely no cost!
I was thinking to myself that a service offering that much storage for free wouldn’t really be all that good, right? After I signed up I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was wrong. ADrive has an intuitive interface, some great features, and loads of storage.
For starters the first thing that you’ll want to do after uploading your files is manage them. You can organize all of your files into folders if you so desire, and you can perform operations (delete, move, etc…) on multiple files at the same time. Here’s what the interface for that looks like:
(Click to Enlarge)
With ADrive you’re able to make some of your files publicly available, but by default everything you upload is kept private. If you do decide to share a file it will be kept on a separate public interface where you’re also provided the URL that you need to hand out. If you want to see what the download page for a file looks like here is the Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 download for Vista that I’ve uploaded. The download interface interface is pretty clean, and the download will automatically start as soon as the page loads. That’s right, there’s no trying to hunt down a download button.
Here’s a screenshot of the interface for managing your public files:
(Click to Enlarge)
Since ADrive doesn’t offer any special tools for uploading files you’ll have to rely on their website quite a bit. They have a simple uploader available where you simply browse for the file you want to upload, or their more advanced uploader utilizes Java to make the process simpler. With the advanced uploader you can select entire folders to upload which makes uploading a ton of different files a breeze:
It all sounds too good to be true, right? I went looking for any sort of limitations they might have but for the most part I came up empty handed. You can’t upload files larger than 2GB, but I don’t really know anyone that would want to do that anyway. I couldn’t find anything saying that you’re limited to how much bandwidth you can use in a certain period of time, and you can upload any filetype.
The thing that I found a little odd was that they wouldn’t let you be logged in to the same account in two different browsers. You’ll receive an alert saying that the other account will be automatically be logged out before proceeding. It’s definitely not a deal killer though.
ADrive Homepage
Thanks for the tip Leland!
Bottom line is, HOW DO THEY MAKE THEIR MONEY?????
There must be something, cause it isn’t a ton of ads. Do they sell info or what?
Bamboo is right on… And unless they make money, they will be another flash in the pan file hoster who will be gone in a few months. I don’t mind spending a few dollars on a Box account, as they will be around for years. I don’t want the hassle of switching hosts from one “free” provider to the next, like a game of musical chairs.
Bob
I’ve noticed that ADrive has been around for about 6 months and I’ve been using them for about 4. As far as I can tell, they have not sold my email address. Also, although I am concerned about them being a ‘fly-by-night’ storage site, they are still in Beta and do mention that they will have pay services coming soon ([adrive.com]).
They might gamble on being bought by a bigger company too, although that won’t help much on the trust issue..
The services they offer are pretty good. I think it will be good for sharing some files among friends but i wont keep any of my backups there.
I evaluated most of the bigger (free) online storage providers recently before picking Microsofts Skydrive. It allows larger uploads than box.net, it has been more reliable than box.net (about one in four times I couldnt get to their site) and I have more faith in Microsofts service sticking around than a web 2.0 startup. (Microsofts usage agreement is also one page of plain english compared to box.nets 5 pages of legalish. I also have real concerns about adrive offering all this for free. Either they are going to cap their limits and deny you access to your files until you pay for a higher service or they are selling your information to some Russian cyber-gangsters!
Not going to waste my time with Skydrive until they up the limit on file size. 50MB is just too small for the things I would want to backup, like last years Christmas family photos are 65 mb. I don’t want the hassle of splitting them into 2 folders.
Bamboo’s right. I don’t want to put all my info up there just to see it get stolen or get charged to access it. I’ll just stick with Dreamhost’s 500GB (and counting, since they add space every so often)
I understand that some of you are concerned about ADrive not being able to make it since they don’t seem to have a great business model, but there aren’t too many places out there that you can store files that are 2GB in size. I wouldn’t use it to backup all of my files anyway since it only has a web interface available, but it is great for sharing those large files with friends and family.
For example, lets say you go on vacation and have a few hundred pictures and videos you want to send people. You can’t exactly email them unless you do it a few at a time, but this way you can ZIP them all up and email the link to everyone.
I’m glad you got around to reviewing this. Sounds like a great service so far. Now to see if it can hold up in the long run. I hope so, I get tired of seeing services like this come and go.
I hope ADrive does hold up in the long run, and they do plan on releasing “premium storage plans”. Their free 50GB storage space and 2GB file size limit can’t be matched elsewhere.
[mybloop.com] ofeers unlimited file storage…file size limit is 1gb
ADrive does induce more confidence in me compared to many other file storage services. I think this is a keeper for an anti-Microsoft user, at least until I see what Google has to offer for Google Drive.
Domains by proxy are suspicious, I suspect it’s a operation to catch copyright infringement or kiddy porn peddlers. Like what MediaDefender was doing this time last year..
I did a reverse lookup on the domain and came up with this though:
ADrive LLC
PO Box 99530
Emeryville
CA
94662
United States
Network Operations Center
+1-510-652-7505
noc@evocative.com
From reading the fine print I think they gather a lot of anonymous information then sell it.
I want to make use of their service, but I have reservations regarding the Privacy Policy. Can anyone help me understand?
Dear Frank Sanchez
Thank you for contacting ADrive. We received your email from our support department. Unfortunately, we cannot provide any more information about our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy than what is printed on these pages.
Thanks,
-ADrive Legal Team
Click here for the ADrive Legal Terms – [adrive.com]
From: ADrive Support Team
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 12:40 PM
To: Frank Sanchez
Cc: ADrive Support
Subject: RE: Question re. Privacy Policy
Thank you for emailing us. However here we take care of technical support for legal questions please email legal-team@adrive.com
Thanks,
-ADrive Support Team
Click here for the ADrive FAQ- [adrive.com]
From: Frank Sanchez [mailto:frankasanchez1@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wed 9/3/2008 7:58 PM
To: ADrive Support
Subject: Question re. Privacy Policy
Hello,
I would like to register for your services. I have read, understood, and agree with the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy except for the following points from the Privacy Policy for which I would appreciate clarification.
a. Information Collection and Use. ADrive is the sole owner of the information collected from its Users.
Does Adrive assume ownership of anything I backup or merely assume ownership of what Adrive may derive from from anything I backup?
q. No Warranties. Due to technical, legal and practical limitations, ADrive cannot warrant and does not guarantee, and You should not expect, that all of Your private communications and other personal information will never be disclosed in ways not otherwise described in this Privacy Policy.
What constitutes private communications and other personal information? Is there any present intent by Adrive to disclose these?
I believe ADrive employs good faith policies. Please verify this.
Regards,
Frank Sanchez
Just signed up for ADrive. Looks pretty nice but I’m kinda annoyed by the 2GB limit. 2GB isn’t enough per file for what I want to upload (backups of large video folders that I put in zip files) and splitting them up is a pain. If they’re going to allow 50GB there’s no reason you can’t upload a 50GB file, it’s stupid that they impose ridiculous restrictions.
Just some info about ADrive, for what it’s worth:
An LLC located at 1321 67TH ST Emeryville, CA 94608, Agent for Service of Process is Javier Martell. It just so happens that the same address is that of the Corporate Headquarters of Berkeley Communications, [berkcom.com.] Whether this bodes well or not, maybe someone else can dig a little further?