A consumer-end online backup service is a good way to ensure you don’t accidentally lose important files. Livedrive, starting at a fairly priced $9.99 per month, is one such service. Its backup options include unlimited storage, versioning, and strong apps across desktop and mobile platforms (now with document and music syncing on Android). Despite improvements since our last review, Livedrive still lacks industry-standard scheduling and encryption features. If you need more robust backup tools, we recommend Editors’ Choice winners IDrive and ShadowProtect SPX Desktop. IDrive offers a generous free version and a paid plan starting at a low $3 per year for 100GB of storage, and ShadowProtect lets you create full-disk image backups on Windows for a one-time $60 payment.
(Note: Livedrive is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com’s parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)
Plans and Prices
Livedrive has three consumer subscription plans: Backup, Briefcase, and Pro Suite. The entry-level tier, Backup, costs $9.99 per month (or $99.90 per year). It gives you unlimited storage space for either one Mac or Windows PC. No plans restrict the number of regular external drives you can back up, but you must pay extra for NAS backups ($8 per month or $96 per year).
The Briefcase plan costs $17.59 per month (or $175.90 per year). It lets you access, edit, and sync files across devices and on the web; it works similarly to a Dropbox folder. So, you can effectively back up files but not your system. This plan includes 2TB of storage and apps for desktop and mobile platforms. Note that a Briefcase plan is required for mobile backups.
The most expensive personal subscription option, Pro Suite, costs $27.49 per month (or $264.90 per year) and combines the Backup and Briefcase plans. You can use this tier on up to five computers and unlimited phones and tablets. This plan includes unlimited backup storage and 5TB of Briefcase storage. You can test the plans for 14 days, but must enter credit card information.
Livedrive is priced similarly to other backup services, but you should compare what they offer before deciding which is right for your backup needs. For example, Livedrive has unlimited storage, but IDrive’s top-tier Personal plan ($99.50 per year for 5TB) works across unlimited devices. Backblaze has unlimited storage for $99 per year and supports mailed drives.
The company’s business tiers (starting with the $55-per-month Business Express) have collaboration and backup tools for organizations. Check out our Livedrive Business review for a deep dive into that enterprise-class service.
Where to Download Livedrive
Livedrive apps are available for macOS and Windows PCs, and for Android and iOS on mobile. There’s also an app for Xbox consoles—this version doesn’t offer all the service’s backup capabilities; it just lets you view uploaded and shared content and add files to your Briefcase.
(Credit: Livedrive/PCMag)
If you want to use the Briefcase feature on a Mac, you must install the third-party MacFUSE utility and disable certain device security settings. The Livedrive team uses this workaround to avoid the File Provider requirements implemented in macOS.
Privacy, Security, and Other Settings
Livedrive says it transfers files to its servers using TLS 1.2 encryption but does not encrypt files locally. However, the company encrypts files at rest on its servers.
It notes that “individual customer data is split across multiple independent systems with no single system containing enough to retrieve an individual file via any unauthorized methods.” Livedrive’s data centers are based in the UK and monitored to prevent intrusion.
You can’t choose your own encryption keys. By contrast, IDrive and SpiderOak One Backup let you protect your entire backup set with a private encryption key.
(Credit: Livedrive/PCMag)
Livedrive’s privacy policy states that it may collect and process data you provide (such as contact info), data you make public (if you post about the company on social media, for example), and data you generate from using the app or site. Livedrive uses this information to operate and improve its services, communicate with you, and comply with legal requests. It also says that the service may disclose personal information to third parties, including “providers of advertising, plugins or content used on our Sites or our Apps.”
The service lacks bulk mail-based backup or recovery services. For comparison, Backblaze and Carbonite Safe can send you an external drive with your backed-up data via postal mail. They can also send you a blank hard drive that you load up with your data and send to them to save you from long upload times.
Livedrive has application-based two-factor authentication. You can set the program to require your account password every time you launch. It organizes most security settings in the Advanced section. The Bandwidth option, for example, lets you limit the bandwidth the program uses for uploads or downloads. Another option is to exclude folders or file types from your backup and set upload priorities for specific file types.
The last security feature of note is Livedrive’s Integrity Check, which verifies each of your files online against those saved on your hard drive to ensure consistency. The time it takes to verify all these files depends on the total size of your backup, but be aware that running this check temporarily locks the rest of the application.
How to Set Up Livedrive Backups
Livedrive’s desktop backup app is similar to Backblaze’s in its compactness and straightforwardness. It’s not as visually striking as SpiderOak, but we had no issues navigating the app or changing preferences.
It organizes information and settings across five tabs in a left-hand menu: Dashboard, Settings, Restore, Support, and Web. Dashboard displays the status of the latest backup task, along with when the next one is set to run and the remaining storage.
The Settings section has three modules: Backup Selection, Security Settings, and Advanced. By default, the Backup Selection screen shows common folders like Desktop, Documents, and Pictures, though you can add any other individual folders via its built-in file browser. Unlike Carbonite Safe and IDrive, Livedrive does not integrate with macOS Finder or Windows File Explorer.
You can control how often (as frequently as every hour) or when the program scans your backup folders for changes. By comparison, Carbonite Safe and IDrive implement continuous backups. Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office lets you set up separate backup sets with individual upload schedules, which could be useful if you want to back up your Documents folder daily, but you only need to run a full disk backup monthly. Livedrive doesn’t have a disk image backup option, a feature Acronis and IDrive offer.
The Support and Web tabs redirect you to the website. Livedrive’s help resources are easy to browse and available in several languages.
Restoring Files and Version Control
The Restore tab lets you retrieve the latest versions of your files—and previous versions—from either your online backup or your Briefcase. It organizes items based on the original computer from which you uploaded them. You can easily restore everything in your Briefcase with a single click. You choose the time period you want to restore from, the destination folder, and how it deals with duplicate files. Livedrive keeps up to 30 previous versions of files from your backup selection or your Briefcase for an unlimited period. It also keeps deleted files for 30 days before removing them permanently. The versioning feature worked fine with a text file we uploaded to the Briefcase and edited at intervals.
(Credit: Livedrive/PCMag)
For comparison, IDrive offers the same file version retention. However, OpenDrive keeps the past 99 versions of a file indefinitely. SpiderOak maintains an unlimited number of versions forever.
Web Features and Sharing
Livedrive’s web interface features a clean and consistent design. You navigate the console via seven menu links: Devices, Latest Files, Photo Gallery, Briefcase, Shared Files, Download, and Support.
Devices and Latest Files work as you’d expect. You can drill down into individual devices or folder structures for specific items.
The Photo Gallery functions like any other web gallery, but it’s a nicer way to view folders than a typical file menu. It sorts photos in reverse chronological order, but there’s no way to further organize them. Folders or some sort of geolocation data attribute would vastly improve this feature.
You can only share files stored in your Briefcase. There’s no way to share a backed-up file unless you first copy it to the Briefcase. You can make files available at a public link or share them directly with individuals via email. In the latter case, Livedrive sends the recipient a one-time access link and a username and password for subsequent access attempts. Other online backup services, such as Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office and OpenDrive, let you protect shared files with a password and limit the number of times a file can be downloaded.
The Download link in the side menu brings you to the correct installer for your device and platform, while the Support tab displays an odd mixture of service information, knowledge base links, the Livedrive Blog, and your account’s universal File Exclusions preferences.
Android and iOS Features
We had no trouble installing and signing in to Livedrive on an Android device. As with the desktop and web applications, the mobile app has a clean design and performs well. The hidden left-hand menu lists options for sharing files, listening to music, uploading files, changing the language, and logging out. A toolbar at the bottom provides access to mobile backup, your backed-up computer, and your briefcase. Livedrive’s iOS app offers the same functionality.
(Credit: Livedrive/PCMag)
Livedrive automatically uploads your phone’s photos and videos to your online storage in the background. The Android version can also back up documents and music stored on your device, a feature a company representative told us will eventually head to the iPhone app.
The Sharing option lets you view files others have shared with you. Upload lets you browse your local device folders and send images, videos, and audio to your Briefcase.
The Music section organizes your uploaded audio files into a cloud player, though you must add them to a Briefcase playlist for the tunes to appear.
Verdict: Improved, But Still Missing Some Key Capabilities
Livedrive handles the basics of backup well. We like its unlimited storage, versioning, and new Android document and music backup. Even so, it lacks continuous backup and disk imaging. For more advanced consumer-end backups, look to our Editors’ Choice winners: IDrive for its 10GB of free data backups and ShadowProtect SPX Desktop for full-disk image backups of Windows computers. And if you’d rather keep your backups out of the cloud, check out our roundups of the best external hard drives and local backup software.
Max Eddy contributed to this review.
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The Bottom Line
Livedrive offers unlimited storage and new Android backup capabilities, but lacks some expected scheduling and encryption options.
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About Justin Pot
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