Choose iCloud Drive if
- Everyone you share with uses Apple devices and you are all willing to turn on Advanced Data Protection.
- You want your iPhone backed up and your photos synced in the same place, with nothing to install.
Compared · checked 14 September 2026
HushOS vs iCloud Drive
iCloud Drive is built into every Apple device. It can be made private, but only if you find the switch, and only for people who use Apple.
Side by side
| HushOS | iCloud Drive | |
|---|---|---|
| Can the company read your files? | No, never. Every file and its name is locked on your device before upload. We cannot read either. | Yes, unless you turn on Advanced Data Protection, which is off by default. With it on, iCloud Drive is end-to-end encrypted. |
| Your password | Never sent to us. Checked on your device with OPAQUE. | Your Apple Account password is sent to Apple to sign in. |
| Sharing | With people, by wrapping the folder key for them on your device under X25519 and ML-KEM-768 together, so it stays shut to a quantum computer later; or by a link with an optional password and expiry. Stopping a share changes the keys. | With people and by link. Shared content stays end-to-end encrypted only if everyone involved has Advanced Data Protection on. |
| Free storage | 2 GiB, and more for every friend you invite. | 5 GB, shared with backups and photos. |
| Open source | Yes, all of it: the app and the server, under the AGPL. You can read it or run it. | No. |
| Run it yourself | Yes, for free, with a Docker Compose guide. | No. |
| Apps | Web app that installs on any phone or computer. Desktop and mobile apps coming very soon. | Built into iPhone, iPad and Mac; a Windows app; a web app. Nothing for Android. |
| How it is paid for | None. Paid for by people who buy more storage, and by nothing else. | Storage plans and Apple hardware. |
Choose HushOS if
- Private by default. There is no switch to find, and it works the same on Android, Windows and Linux.
- Sharing is private with anyone, including people with no account, through a link.
- Open source and yours to run.
Moving from iCloud Drive
On a Mac, your iCloud Drive folder is in the Finder; on Windows, in File Explorer. Drag what you want onto your HushOS Drive in the browser. On an iPhone, share files from the Files app to the HushOS web app or upload them from within it.
What this page says about iCloud Drive was checked against its own published pages on 14 September 2026. Services change; if something here is out of date, tell us on GitHub and we will fix it. What it says about HushOS is explained claim by claim on the security page.