I’ve been syncing my databases via Dropbox from the beginning of the new sync system several years ago, iCloud was not an option then. Now iCloud is. Has anyone compared the two for reliability and speed? Wondering if I should switch.
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There aren’t any distinct advantages to either. iCloud is available on your devices signed into your Apple ID and it’s the easiest to set up. However, it’s also a two-stage sync where we sync locally then iCloud uploads to Apple’s servers. Our sync to Dropbox goes directly to their servers. This really only shows a difference in initial uploads / downloads. Subsequent syncs are essentially the same.
Personally, I wouldn’t change it just to change it or because the option is now available.
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OK, thanks. I wouldn’t change unless there was a noticeable difference from the user standpoint. I have satellite internet which can be slow due to latency, and so that is what makes me wonder if there is an advantage to one approach over the other.
I use iCloud but have a database with Travel information I would like to share. Could I choose to use Dropbox for that database and retain iCloud for the others? I assume I couldn’t share using iCloud as there would be two Apple ids involved.
One thing you might want to consider is the new Dropbox restriction to 3 devices for those on the free account.
Welcome @John53
Yes, this is possible if you used a shared account, ie. logging in with the same credentials. But, as @empire01 mentioned, the 3 device limit could pose a problem unless you’re going to pay Dropbox a bit.
Since this DEVONthink baby allows us to encrypt our databases, one can use services that doesn’t respect user privacy like Dropbox w/o any compromise. I do, in fact, sync some trivial databases this way since the 2gb space given by Dropbox is way more than enough for that stuff.
Now, iCloud offers a second layer of security thanks to all the safeguards implemented by Apple, but sadly the base account is only of 5Gb.
So what I try to do is to avoid polluting iDrive and store (encrypted too, oc ) only the most relevant/data-sensitive of my DT databases.
And I just found out that iCloud syncing takes twice the space. You’ll find a copy of everything in the mobilesync folder in ~/Library.
Edit: there seems to be a solution for this: iCloud Sync Bug or Not?
I went a bit bonkers with synchronization. I sync to iCloud, Dropbox, SD card attached to macbook and 2 separate WebDAV servers. All syncs encrypted. Each with different password.
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Welcome @sanderdatema
Our sync engine has to sync locally, then iCloud does what it wants to do regarding syncing and cleanup.
Welcome @piftik
Our sync definitely supports more than one sync method, but generally speaking it’s easier to work with one or two max.
For me this makes Dropbox significantly better than iCloud if you have large databases. All storage can be server-side with DropBox, but the way iCloud works means it has to have a local copy.