Kashmir HillAfter I did the story about the dad whose Google account was closed and deleted for taking a photo of his naked toddler for the doctor, I heard from a distraught mother in Colorado who was going through the same thing and didn't know why. Her Google account was disabled, taking with it her wedding photos, videos of her 9yo son growing up, tax documents, email and everything else. And she had no idea why. She was in tears. "It feels like my house burned down," she told me: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/30/technology/google-appeals-change.html
Edward Hasbrouck@kashhill - It wood be good for Google et al. to improve their policies. BUT ALSO: Let this be a lesson/reminder not to rely on (unpaid) commercial third parties to hold your vital data. They good discontiunue free services and/or change policies at any time. KEEP BACKUPS in your own home, w/ trusted family or friend, and/or in safe deposit box.
@ehasbrouck i've got a story on exactly that coming soon!
@kashhill - I look forward to it. Most of my friends are surprised when I mention that I have a safe deposit box, or suggest it to them; even more when I say it is primarily for data and secondarily for documents.
Caffe Neko@ehasbrouck @kashhill How do you back up data? I've used external HDs then they brick, there's third party cloud but one doesn't own that. Is there anything that doesn't require regular migration to new formats and how does an average person know when they need to migrate? My new years resolution is to start printing photos again.
@caffeneko @kashhill - I don't assume that any cloud services provider (esp. free) will necessarily be available after fire, earthquake, etc. I duplicate on flash drives and external hard disk, rotate my in-house backup devices periodically with safe deposit box and distant friend. I'm no expert. May be better formats, but I want physical copies in my possession or control.