How to use Backblaze as Your Personal Cloud Service (But Not for Your Business)

Backblaze is one of our favorite online backup solutions. It not only provides exceptional features, but it is surprisingly affordable too! So, if you are looking for a personal cloud service that you can use just for yourself and not your business (or any professional capacity), Backblaze can be an excellent option.

The best thing about Backblaze is its pay-as-you-go pricing model. It doesn’t restrict you to limited storage space. Instead, you will get unlimited cloud storage by paying for a monthly or yearly subscription (which is very affordable too!)

In this way, you won’t have to worry about exceeding your storage space limit or not having enough data to fully utilize the storage you are paying for on a monthly basis, the way you would with some other cloud backup services. With Backblaze, all you need to do is pay a monthly subscription fee, and you will have unlimited cloud storage at your fingertips. Sounds fantastic, right?

Today, we will walk you through all the features of Backblaze, from its unique benefits to its file sharing and security measures, that make it one of the most trusted and in-demand cloud backup options of 2022.

What is Backblaze: A Quick Overview

Backblaze is one of the most widely used online cloud backup solutions. It was launched in 2007 and currently operates in 175 countries. It is used to back up over 50 billion files! Backblaze has become a major player in the cloud backup space and has been competing against the likes of OneDrive, IDrive, Google Drive, and more.

The Backblaze cloud storage service is divided into two subscription plans: Computer Backup and B2 Backup. As the name suggests, Computer Backup is meant for individual users who want to back up data from a single computer. The Computer Backup service is a super simple backup process that involves backing up all the data from a single computer, including all the external drives connected to it.

On the other hand, their B2 cloud storage, or B2 Backup, is meant explicitly for all medium and large organizations that want to back up the data, images, files, etc., from multiple computers. As a result, B2 Backup is a complex and highly versatile cloud backup solution.

Due to its high affordability and security, most individual users are opting for Backblaze to securely back up their personal data. While the cloud solution is also popular amongst small and large companies, it has gained the special trust of individual users who just want to back up the data from their personal devices.

Major Features of Backblaze

To use Backblaze as your personal cloud storage solution, you have to opt for its Computer Backup plan. Here, you can get unlimited storage space that you can use to back up and store your data in a secured cloud server. So even if you have multiple hard drives connected to your PC, all of their data and individual files will also be backed up securely.

An excellent thing about Backblaze is that it will automatically back up and store all of your existing data as soon as it is changed. So, once your account set-up process is completed, you won’t have to do anything manually. Instead, just select the location you want to back up your data, choose your preferred time, and it will be done!

However, Backblaze doesn’t allow you to back up network files. Moreover, a lot of file types like ISO disk images, and other types of files will not be backed up by default. So, make sure to change the default Backblaze settings and include all the file types you want to back up so that you don’t miss anything important.

How to Start Using Backblaze?

Backblaze has a very user-friendly interface; you do not have to be a tech wizard to get started. All you need to do is visit Backblaze’s website, choose your monthly or yearly plan, and sign up for a personal backup account.

Once that is done, you simply need to install Backblaze on your Windows or Mac. You can follow this guide for installing Backblaze on Windows and this guide for Mac.

When the installation process is completed, you can go through Backblaze’s Settings and set things like your backup location, preferred time for backup, and so on. As soon as you are done with all of that, the backups will automatically begin.

How to Restore or Download Your Data?

The next and most common question people want to understand after installing Backblaze is: “How will I restore or download my backed-up data?”

Just like the installation, the data restoration process in Backblaze is quite simple, too.

To restore or download your data, you can visit the “View/Restore File” page on your Backblaze account. Then, select the method you want to use to restore your data. You can either restore all of your data by selecting the “All Files and Folders” option, or you can manually choose specific files, versions of files, and databases that you want to restore.

You can download the data through a zip download or into a USB hard drive. If you opt for the hard drive option, Backblaze will send you the drive with all your files. You will have to pay $189 for each external drive. However, if you return the drive to the company, you will get a full refund for the amount.

A huge benefit of choosing Backblaze is that you can keep each of your file’s version history from 30 days to one year to even forever! Along with unlimited storage, Backblaze also offers unlimited versioning, which is incredibly impressive considering the cost.

Backblaze Pricing

Selecting your cloud storage plan is one of the most confusing things. You have to guess how much storage you’ll possibly require in a month or year and then change your plan if that feels too much or too little. So, Backblaze decided to remove the confusion from the picture.

If you want to use Backblaze as your personal cloud service, you have to opt for their Personal Backup plan. Backblaze’s pricing is one of its strongest feats. It uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model where you have to pay a fixed amount and enjoy unlimited cloud storage space (unlimited backup), easy access to files, top security standards, an simple setup process, wonderful security features, and much more.

Backblaze pricing starts at $7.00 per computer per month for unlimited storage. However, if you opt for the yearly plan, you will have to pay $70.00 per computer to get unlimited cloud storage to back up all your files, photos, movies, and everything else. Yes, you read it right; what a great deal!

For only $70.00, you will be able to store every bit of your precious digital information securely. And today, when cyber crimes are increasing rapidly, Backblaze is offering a phenomenal deal. Not only this, but you will also get a 15-day free trial period before committing to a monthly or yearly plan.

Wrapping Up

To sum up, if you do not have to back up multiple devices and want a simple and user-friendly personal backup solution for your PC, very few options will be as good as Backblaze. It offers you incredible flexibility and top-notch security and will not burn a hole in your pocket.

All you need to do is create your account, choose your plan (monthly or yearly) and complete the initial set-up. After that, Backblaze will take care of the rest. We were highly impressed with the number of features this inline backup solution offers. Overall, it is a solid backup solution that will definitely meet all your expectations and more.

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To learn more about Backblaze, check out our frequently asked questions below. 

FAQ

Is Backblaze personal really unlimited?

Yes! While it may sound surprising, Backblaze’s personal backup solution is really unlimited in terms of backup storage. All you need to do is pay $7.00 per month, and you can access the unlimited cloud storage to back up your personal data, including files, emails, images, and more from any single device and associated drives. 

Where does Backblaze store its data?

If you are worried about your personal data’s location or security, don’t be. According to Backblaze, they have data centers in some of the most secure locations in the world.

The cloud storage company claims they have secured data centers in Phoenix,  Sacramento, California, and Amsterdam. The region where you have signed up for your account will determine where your data will be stored. You can check your account’s region on the “My Settings” page of Backblaze’s website. 

Does Backblaze look at your files?

Backblaze is one of the most secure online cloud storage services. When you back up your data using Backblaze, strong data encryption protects your data. In addition, only you will have the private encryption key. This means that only you can read and access your files. This all makes Backblaze one of the most secure cloud storage providers today.

Each file scheduled to be backed up is encrypted to your computer. Once the backup is complete, these files or their recent file versions are moved over a highly secure SSL connection to one of Backblaze’s data centers.

These data centers can store your files and even delete them (with your permission), but they cannot read them. So, no, Backblaze cannot look at your files.

It’s incredible what Backblaze offers with its basic plan. This basic plan provides unlimited storage for single devices, multiple layers of security and authentication, complete privacy, multiple versions (previous versions), automated backups, a simple recovery process, great download speeds, protection with a secure service provider, and much more.