Sync.com is a really great zero knowledge, encrypted service and I am considering using it as my go to cloud service when my current cloud subscription ends.
I tested Sync a little bit and found it very easy to use. Like Tresorit, everything with Sync.com is client-side-encrypted. When I initially tested it I found it a slightly more difficult to share my files to other applications from the Sync.com mobile app, which is why I eventually chose pcloud instead. However now I may eventually go back to Sync.com because they seem to have fixed that problem and the attraction of client-side-encryption is difficult to dismiss. Unlike most cloud encryption services, with sync.com you will get image thumbnails in the web app, desktop application and also the mobile application. This is a real great advantage because that means you can easily store and enjoy your photo albums without constantly encrypting and decrypting everything. The ability to store and view photo albums will probably be the reason I go back to Sync.com.
I really love the mobile application of Sync.com. As I mentioned before, everything is encrypted yet I can still see image thumbnails which is awesome. I feel like Sync.com could still make some changes to make it more user friendly however. For instance the folder syncing doesn’t work as smoothly as pcloud. With Sync.com you can sync any folder on your computer, however it nests that folder inside lots of different folders in your Vault. For example if I sync a desktop folder in Sync.com, the folder structure will be something like “Computer Name > C > Users > Adam > Desktop > My Folder”. It would be more user friendly to just create “My Folder” inside the Vault instead of nesting it in all these other folders.
I also tested the response time of Sync.com’s support who got back to me within 16 hours. Not as quick as Tresorit’s support team but still faster than pCloud’s.
PCloud has some extra features that Sync.com doesn’t. For instance the way that pcloud interacts and syncs with folders on your computer is more advanced. Pcloud also has a built in media player that can play songs and videos wheras Sync.com can’t. To be honest though, I don’t use the media player in pcloud very much. Pcloud has more share options than Sync.com but for me what Sync offers is enough. Sync.com is also a little slower than pCloud however when everything is client-side-encrypted what else could you expect!
The premium version of Sync.com offers vastly increased storage and extra features like self destruct, download limits, preview mode for documents and images (without download), email notifications on link downloads, expiry dates etc. For the premium version Sync.com is considerably cheaper than both PCloud and Tresorit for equivalent kinds of accounts.
The thing that bothers me most about Sync.com is that it doesn’t have a Linux application (I sometimes use Ubuntu). Sync.com also doesn’t have WebDAV, CardDAV or CalDAV. Which means I can’t sync my phone contacts, my calendar or allow Standard Notes to store media files in it (WebDAV). If you don’t even know what WebDAV etc is, this probably won’t affect you.
Sync.com is based in Canada, where the privacy laws aren’t as good as they are in Switzerland (where Tresorit is hosted). However seeing as everything is client side encrypted this shouldn’t matter. However if you’re based in Europe and syncing to Canada, perhaps the connection speed is a little slower than it would be if you had a European service. That’s pretty hard to judge though.
Pros
- Client-side-encryption for everything
- Zero Knowledge
- Auto camera upload ability
- Two factor authentication (even in free version)
- 30 day file history in free version
- 60 – 365 day file history on premium accounts (depends which you pick)
- Very affordable
- Supports Windows, Mac, Android and iOS
- Image thumbnails in all apps
- Great for storing photo albums
- Many other features
Cons
- No Linux support
- No media player for videos and audio
- Syncing folders outside of the sync folder puts them in a very long folder hierarchy
- A little slower than pCloud
- It isn’t open source
- Based in Canada (the country is a 5 eyes member)
- No WebDAV, CardDAV or CalDAV
- No ability to double encrypt / password protect (so you can’t put a different password on individual folders with Sync.com)
Score: 8 / 10
Reviewer: Adam Rouge
Follow Adam Rouge: