Yes, please don't count cloud storage as more than "one" copy of your data .. i.e. not good enough.
You doubt me? Three points:
1) You might accidentally delete your files, or lose access to your cloud account. If your life is in gmail and Google docs and Google drive, and for some reason you can't login anymore ... then you're toast. There's nobody answering the phone to help you. Apple iCloud? Same comment. You get some free storage, but you're not getting more support than you pay for.
2) Megaupload.com. Used by thousands of people to store their files. Shut down without warning because the site was also used to share pirated files. The innocent users of that site never got their files back. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaupload ... and in particular: https://torrentfreak.com/leaseweb-wipes-all-megaupload-user-data-dotcom-outraged-130619/
3) Google almost destroying one of its customers. The customer had another copy of their files, but otherwise their business would have been destroyed. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/google-cloud-accidentally-nukes-customer-account-causes-two-weeks-of-downtime/
4) Digital storage is not forever. If you do have a backup copy, the files last forever or five years, whichever comes first. See Jeff Rothenburg's work, eg: http://www.clir.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/ensuring.pdf (disclaimer: I might have provided Jeff with the paper tape used in one of his pictures).
Oh, that's more than three points. But I'll stop now ...
The bottom line is that computers are a sharp instrument and need to be used with care. Loss of data is just one issue, others include scam emails, scam texts, phishing attacks, malware, ransomware, privacy lost, tracking .. the list goes on and on. And while most of the worst is illegal, our DOJ is 99.99% ineffective at prosecuting those that are attacking us.
Again I'm really sorry you've lost your files and hope you can be surprised with some good news if you get some decent help.
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