If you have any concerns about this issue, such as that you are completely dependent on Google and now feel a sudden shock, let this be a warning bell that you are not doing the right thing. Let’s say Google banned your account because you didn’t follow the rules they saw… well, you’d lose control.

Suppose you activate something that encrypts your files, like ransomware… you will lose control.

Suppose someone hacks your account…you will lose control. These are just 3 examples, and I can mention more if you want. If you are completely dependent on a supplier, your personal risk management is out of place. So be very happy that you are seeing this happening now.

To give you an idea… we have about 100TB at Google, which we back up offsite through another vendor. However, retrieving 100TB will take weeks, so we have to distinguish between current data and archive data. Now, not everyone needs to spend a lot of money, but try to make plans for the events I described above. My private data is in the Apple cloud with a backup to the Google cloud, at least every year I put a copy of that data on the hard drive and leave it with my mother and then I get the drive that is still with her, take it home, of course after I make a copy of her data. This may cost €200 one-time and €120 annually. If you look at what you spend monthly on internet, mobile, TV, streaming services, etc., that’s a great price to get some control. But the peace of mind is really worth it.

Minimum solution:
Put it in the cloud, sync it with your computer, make a copy of it, and put it somewhere else on your drive on an external disk. Do you use Apple? Sync your photos with Google Photos.

But if this post worries you, you know there’s still some work to do.