pCloud Reviews

Summary: This pCloud product is a good tool to create a cloud based backup. The company boasts backup in the USA and Europe, so your data is unlikely to get lost in the event of a disaster. It offers reasonable piece of mind for users (clients) to have their data stored remotely in the event of a PC failure, theft, or some disaster causing loss of property. That was my goal and pCloud helped me achieve it.

The client is easy to setup and is largely a set it and forget it deal. It caches upload data on the local disk until the data can be spooled to the cloud. This allows you to copy the contents you want uploaded and then allow the client to spool the upload in the background. The drawback to this is you are not assured of content upload without checking the client software to be sure the content is fully delivered.

I use Cryptomator to encrypt the data that I don't want readily visible to anyone. The Crypto service in pCloud is not free while Crpytomator is, and that tool is cross platform.

For the technically minded, the client uses block-level file copy. That means that as files are changed, only the changed portions of the file are sent over the wire, not the complete file. That really helps speed along uploads of altered data.

There is major flaw only partially documented in the help section. If you have files that receive frequent updates, the client has trouble handling the updates. In the help section it mentions examples such as email stores (a .pst file for example). I found that it cannot handle encrypted volumes. I created a volume using VeraCrypt I was able to copy in test data. The volume appears but upon mounting it, the contents were lost and Windows didn't even recognize the format and thought it was unformatted. This lead to total loss of the data that was copied into volume. In several emails with their support department, they claim encrypted volumes are not supported even though this is not disclosed in the help section. I consider this a major flaw in their client and apparently the company is aware of this problem.

Positive: Data in the cloud does not take up space on the guest PC. The data is on a drive, P:, just like another drive. Easy setup of the client. Web access to the data. Excellent pricing compared to competitors. One time fee for lifetime purchase of cloud space or a yearly fee. Optional "Crypto Service" for a fee.

Negative: The client cannot handle encrypted volumes. It has documented trouble with files that get frequent updates such as email stores, databases. Network throughout is not always capable of the maximum my ISP delivers.

Summary: After using the product for a few months, I find it extremely unreliable. The support is useless. Since there is no queue and no log, I have no idea what the software is doing. There is no way to debug any issue.

Totally would not recommend.

Positive: The upload and download speed is great - could be because we are in the same region (EU). The price was ok, since I got at a sale.

Negative: I am a client of pCloud and do not recommend their platform.

I have recurring problems synchronizing, and they do not provide:

1. a Download / Upload queue screen
2. a Log file

How is it possible that synchronizing software does not implement these features?

You have no idea at any time what the software is doing!

There is no way for you to debug anything because there is no queue or log file.

Also: 3. every time I connect an external hard drive, it uploads the data again and again. 1 Terra byte of upload, every time I reconnect this drive.

Later Edit: Because I felt that the pCloud software is highly unreliable and because I felt the Support was quite aggressive, I feared that my files would be at the mercy of their emotional states, so I decided to delete my account. I did not get a refund; I forfeited the 245 euros invested in the 2TG lifetime plan.

I hope you will not make the same mistake I made!

Summary: My experience with pCloud has been nothing other than horrifying and negative. I normally leave positive reviews or none at all, But This is the worst service, worst company I have ever come across. I wish I had read all of the negative reviews before I had purchased their scam of a "service"
pCloud states that they will provide a refund if you are unsatisfied with the trial, but this is not the case. There is no way to cancel, the one representative they have corresponding with you is robotic and disregards your request to cancel and receive a full refund. The service is not at all what was expected, it does not meet my needs as represented in their service description. The pCloud “representative” responds with “Sorry we cannot refund” Basically they don’t care about consumer needs and will be keeping my money regardless.
This is a disappointing business practice from a company that will be storing your private files and photos. If they are not willing to provide a refund for something that doesn’t meet a consumer need, why would you trust them to keep your files secure and safe? I would never recommend pCloud to anyone. I don’t trust the site nor the app. It is uneasy to leave confidential documents on a site that doesn’t even stand behind their product. There are far better options from companies that also provide better consumer services. I had high hopes but was instead disappointed, I have lost money to this site and no service. Buyers BEWARE. Overall, pCloud is not a trustworthy service, There is no such thing as free here; you lose your data or your money, either way you are not in control of your own files. Keep in mind that they are located in a foreign country, you have no protection under their laws.

Positive: The concept sounded good but did not deliver.
The overmarketing of the idea sounded good but again, did not meet expectations.
Free Trial.

Negative: The entire service is unsafe and unpredictable.
The customer service is robotic and lacking in all areas.