Tom's Guide Verdict
Degoo is a straightforward cloud storage solution with an emphasis on photos, but it does little to differentiate itself from cloud storage leaders.
Pros
- +
100GB free plan
- +
Zero-knowledge encryption
Cons
- -
Basic functionality
- -
No desktop application
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Degoo is a cloud-based backup solution with an emphasis on photos. A consumer-focused product that strips out features that only businesses use, Degoo aims to replace your use of Google Photos or Apple Photos as the backup solution on your Android or iOS phone. It has over 100 million users worldwide.
In this Degoo review, we look at what’s different about the cloud-based backup tool to help you decide whether it’s the best cloud storage solution for your needs.
Plans and pricing
One reason to check out Degoo is its generous 100GB free plan. With the free plan, however, you need to keep using the service periodically, as accounts are deleted after 90 days of inactivity. The free plan is also ad-supported, and you can only use it to upload files from three devices.
The Pro plan costs $3 a month, and you get an upgrade to 500GB of storage space, files are never deleted, and ads are removed. You also gain the ability to use zero-knowledge encryption, which means all files can be encrypted with a passphrase so only you can decrypt them.
The Ultimate plan comes in at $9.99 a month and includes a big jump in storage space, as you can now store up to 10TB of files. You also get Degoo’s photo storage maximizer, which lets you upload high-quality versions of your photos to the cloud while keeping compressed versions on your device.
Features
Degoo’s feature list is quite short compared to most cloud storage solutions. For one, there aren’t any native desktop clients for Windows or macOS, so you have to rely on manually uploading and downloading files through the website.
Its mobile apps are more useful, and it's clear that the service is mainly meant for photographers who take snaps with their phones. Besides iOS and Android app stores, Degoo is also on the Samsung Galaxy Store and Huawei AppGallery. You can set up Degoo to upload files from a folder automatically. This feature can be used with other file types besides photos, but you need a paid plan for that.
For some, the photo storage maximizer tool can be useful. With this setting engaged, a high-resolution version of your photo is uploaded to the cloud and a comparatively low-resolution version is kept on your device. This allows you to keep a larger library of photos on your phone while not compromising on quality.
Interface and in use
All of Degoo’s interfaces are simple and intuitive. The on-screen items are chunky, the text is huge, and it’s always clear how to get things done. Users who like advanced customization, filtering, and automated workflows will be somewhat disappointed with Degoo’s lack of flexibility in this regard, but for people who like their software to do what it needs to do without extraneous bells and whistles, Degoo will be a delight.
That said, Degoo’s web application feels more like an afterthought. There’s a decent photo editor, and it’s possible to share documents easily with non-Degoo users, but it’s all fairly basic. If you’re just looking for a simple solution for photo cloud storage, Degoo will work, but because it doesn’t have any desktop apps, working with files on a computer feels lackluster.
Support
The support for Degoo, like the software itself, is quite basic. There’s a knowledge base with around 25 FAQs that take you through the key features of the software. Granted, there’s not too much to cover. But some answers seem to discuss versions of the software that no longer exist, and there’s no section for Degoo on iOS at all.
The other line of support is through support tickets. We sent a few test queries, and it took about a day to receive a reply for each. Here, most other cloud services have Degoo beat.
Security
If the security of your photos is a priority, Degoo is an excellent choice. All plans get 256-bit end-to-end encryption, so it’s next to impossible for anyone to intercept your files when they’re in transit. Two-factor authentication is available if you use a Google account to sign in.
Even more interesting is the zero-knowledge storage system that you get on paid plans. Files are encrypted in such a way that no one at Degoo could access them without knowing your passphrase, even if they were compelled to by law. All paid plans also store your files in multiple data centers, so there’s no risk of losing them.
Alternatives to Degoo
The obvious competitor apps for Degoo are Google Photos and Apple Photos, as they perform much the same duties as Degoo and are already installed on your phone when you buy it.
But Google’s free plan is just 15GB of storage compared to Degoo’s 100GB, and Google’s paid plans offer around a fifth of the storage space that Degoo does for the same price. Apple’s pricing is roughly the same as Google’s pricing, but the free plan includes only 5GB of data for free.
Final verdict
Degoo’s biggest selling point is its generous storage amounts, both on its free and paid plans. But the lack of desktop apps, slow support, and basic functionality all around make it a weak choice if you want to do anything more than keep a backup of your phone’s photos.
That said, it’s much cheaper than most comparable services, which could be a good enough reason to choose it. It also has great built-in security.
