"Dummies" guide to transferring from Google Drive to Open Source Storage

[Jox]

Hi All,

I am embarking on (what feels like a daunting task) coming off Google Drive, and am looking for the smoothest, pain-free, and easiest way

I currently use Google Drive for file storage (photos and files), and also Google Sheets/Word, and Gmail. I have already set up a Murena email and have their free account.

I would be so grateful for tips/guidance from those who have already completed this merge on how you did it.

Questions:

1. I have a lot of storage. Is Murena the best Open Source platform for an all in one storage? Including pricing?
2. Is there an alternative that works as Microsoft Word/Excel that I can share with clients, and also open their files?
3. How do you find whichever Open Source you use easy to navigate (I am not that technologically minded and do not spend long on the laptop)
4. Is there a way of transferring automatically?
5. How easy is it to share files?

Thank you in advance!

1. Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/OS the deGoogled mobile OS and online services
   

[petefoth]

@Jox

I have a lot of storage. Is Murena the best Open Source platform for an all in one storage? Including pricing?

I no longer use my Murena account for this, after problems a couple of years ago left it innaccessible for several weeks. I use free-tier hosted NextCloud accounts from

• thegood.cloud (2GB free): I use this for document storage using the nextCloud sync client from F-Droid on my phone, and Desktop clients on my computers
• OwnDrive.com. I also use this for document storage, as well as Contacts, Calendar & Tasks sync using DAVx5 and ICSx5 sync clients from F-Droid, and Notes using NextCloud Notes app. On computers I use ThunderBird for Calendar and Contacts sync, and QOwnNotes for Notes

I also have a standard tier, paid-for account with mailbox.org which includes 5GB files storage and 10 GB Mail storage for € 2.50 / month, but currently I only use that for email.

@Jox

Is there an alternative that works as Microsoft Word/Excel that I can share with clients, and also open their files?

I use LibreOffice on computers to view, create & edit office documents (including those in Microsoft formats), and Collabora Office on device for viewing. (It may allow editing, but I have never used that)

@Jox

How do you find whichever Open Source you use easy to navigate (I am not that technologically minded and do not spend long on the laptop)

Yes.

@Jox

Is there a way of transferring automatically?

@Jox

Is there a way of transferring automatically?

Easily on desktop: Install the NextCloud desktop client for your OS (Windows, MacOS and Linux all supported). Set them up to use your NextCloud account (murena’s storage is also NextCloud, but I believe it is a fork, which is another reason I don’t use it). Assuming you have the Google Drive client on the same computer, copy or move the files from the Google Drive directory tree to the NextCloud directory tree, then allow sync to happen. I would start by copying, until you are sure everything has been synced to NextCloud.

@Jox

How easy is it to share files?

Very straightforward.The mobile, web and desktop clients all allow you to create a link to share documents and files, with configurable access rights and security settings.

If you decided to go with mailbox.org, they allow contacts, calendar and file synch and sharing, as well as being a good, reliable & secure email host. Worth the cost (which is very reasonable IMHO), and, along with the mentioned NextCloud hosts they eable you to move all your data beyond the reach of the rogue nation on the West side of the Atlantic

[freechelmi]

@Jox

Is there a way of transferring automatically?

Yes , Murena cloud is Nextcloud with some great plugins

the Google migration plugin : Sign in to murena

Enable to transfer ( without deletion ) calendar /contacts / files into murena nextcloud

the integrated onblyoffice editor supports perfectly the Office files

[piero]

How to Backup and Restore your /e/OS phone

Migrate to /e/OS

Migrate your data from Google Cloud to Murena Workspace

[Rupert]

Welcome to the d’googled world. Based on your criteria of “a lot” of storage/price, Word/Excel need, ease of use and transferring,
I’d recommend Koofr:
Depending of what “a lot” means, they offer a 1TB lifetime plan, which is available for $199, with promo code as little as $129 on StackSocial. That’s less than 1y of Murena.
Koofr uses MS Office for the Web, so you can view/edit files from the Drive.
One neat feature of Koofr is that they allow you to link your GoogleDrive (Dropbox, MS OneDrive) to your account. Once you do, it’s very easy to transfer files. You can manage all of them from one interface, so you can take your time transferring everything or even use them in parallel.

If you are moving to an e/os phone, I found it also helpful that Koofr has regular storage, which allows you to do the phone backup to Koofr (via Seedvault/WebDAV). Other open-source apps/services also often use WebDAV, so that makes it a lot easier. You can also manage your media upload (photo/videos) via the app.
In addition, similar to Murena, Koofr has a “vault” for end-to-end encrypted storage, so you decide what needs additional security.

Alternatives, that I also like and use are:

ProtonDrive - they offer a whole eco system, including Mail, Password manager, VPN, Wallet, Meet. They also have their own docs/sheets integrated. It’s fully encrypted e2e, so very secure, but you can’t use WebDAV or other open source tools to access it, only through the Proton Apps/Tools. You’d have to use Google Takeout to download all your files, than upload it manually, so a bigger effort. If you have less than 500GB of files, their Unlimited plan offers all of the tools + 500GB for an annual price of €119.

pCloud - secure storage, lifetime plan for 2TB is €399, encrypted storage has a separate lifetime plan/cost. Annual plans also available. They have a migration tool, so you can transfer everything in one go directly Google Drive, without having to go through your laptop.

I didn’t go with Murena after the experience with a 6month downtime. While the data was eventually recovered, not having access for 6 months and everything being out of sync was not really acceptable, especially if you use it as your main storage and for your job. Sadly, there was never a post-mortem to make customers comfortable why/how this will never happen again.

If you do go with Murena, you could consider a cheaper, lifetime plan from FolderFort, Internxt or Koofr to sublement it for high volume stuff, backup, archive, etc…
If you are having challenges with the transfer, you can also consider MultCloud to move things over.

[Jox]

Thank you for sharing what you use, I will check them out.

[Jox]

Thank you, love such a detailed response. I will have a look at what you’ve suggested.

[petefoth]

@Rupert

I’d recommend Koofr:

…

ProtonDrive

…

pCloud

All the services you recommend appear to be closed source, proprietary software. I would always prefer Open Source solutions such as NextCloud.

[Rupert]

I understand that you prefer open source - but “open source” was not one of the criteria that OP listed.

And the open source solutions you suggest are either self hosted, less convenient or more expensive than the proprietary solutions.

For example, Libre Office is not integrated into the Drive, it’s a very traditional on PC app, so you have to download the file, convert, process and export every time.

I use Next Cloud and it has its advantages, but it’s not as easy to use as Proton or Koofr and if you want a hosted solution, you are dealing with reliability/availability/security issues, similar to Murena - or you pay a premium, like with your suggestion OwnCloud, which charges a staggering $38/month for 1TB. OP said he has lot of data, so a free 1GB account might not be sufficient for him…

Neither Next Cloud nor OwnCloud seem to offer any easy transition option - you basically have to download everything to your device, than upload to the new service, which is neither convenient nor reliable… I’ve done that with TBs of data, it wasn’t fun and I had a lot of errors to deal with…. Server to server, as offered by Koofr, pcloud or MultCloud is significantly easier and more reliable!

As always for different needs and priorities, there are different options…

[Jox]

I am looking for privacy, so assume that’s Open Source, in which case you are correct.

[Jox]

So the storage you have mentioned is although not Google, still sells our data, or is not private? Just for me to get a clearer picture. And thank you for sharing the advantages/disadvantages.

[Rupert]

Privacy and open source are not the same thing. Companies like Proton are considered privacy first: They host the data in Europe, follow European privacy laws, never sell any of your information and position themselves as the anti-Google. In fact, their cloud storage is specifically designed that nobody but you, even Proton themselves, can access your data. That means, even if a government was to demand access to your data, Proton couldn’t give them access, because only you have the encryption keys.

Much of this is true for pCloud (Switzerland) and Koofr (Slovakia). In their case, their “vault” is end-to-end encrypted, which means only you can access it, even the provider can’t!

“Open Source” is a concept that makes the software freely available for use, modification and redistribution. It’s a community based, non-profit effort. While that has many benefits, many companies who are trying to make a profit will not make their research and investments available for everybody to use freely. Open Source makes modern technologies available to everybody, for free. At the same time, many of the latest innovations/best/most efficient/… solutions that require significant investments into research & development won’t be available through open source. Many dedicated Open Source developers contribute their personal time to make these projects happen and these software solutions available to everybody, but of course they can’t match the huge development teams Google et al put on this stuff, so you can’t expect feature parity…

So, some people will only use Open Source as a matter of principle. I personally will pay more to get less from Open Source, but with limits… I’d rather pay for a non-open source service and donate to projects I like, than exclusively use Open Source - and loose all my personal & business data…

So, for example, if you take photo galleries, Immich is a very good open source solution. It has good features, comparable to Google Photos a few years ago. But none of the latest features, like any of the AI features, ie Magic Eraser, are available. You can set up your own Immich solution or get a hosted solution via PixelUnion.eu, with 16GB free, if you can live without the latest, greatest features.

So, if Privacy is a priority for you, the Proton Suite of products is probably one of the best on the market right now and I’d take a closer look at them. The combination of ProtonPass, ProtonDrive & ProtonVPN (in combination with an e/os phone) will be a huge step forward with regards to privacy from an all Google world…

[tcecyk]

murenas track record has a dent on availability - but they indeed offer a Google migration plugin that can slurp from Google without indirection.

As freechelmi pointed out, the murena-io integrated web-based OnlyOffice can open most office files alike, @Jox you can use that in a free account too. It offers shareable links of documents that can be optionally edited by the recipient (internal to murena-io or external).

The Proton suite or Koofr or pCloud all offer free accounts and Android apps, imo you should check them out and get a first hand impression. In the faqs any will say to do automatic sync. If they offer file history, that is a plus (murena-io doesn’t atm).

The advantage of murenas own syncing software device side to a nextcloud-compatible backend is the permission to read and sync directly to the user directories. The disadvantage is the missing granularity of what to sync or to control how deletions are handled on either side.