Cloud Space vs Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox
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By default, Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox manage the encryption keys for your files, so their systems can open the files to search, preview and run AI on them. My NoteVault Cloud Space encrypts files on your device and never gives its servers the keys, so its servers cannot read, search, preview or run AI on your files.
Who holds the encryption keys in Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox?
In their default modes, all three providers manage the keys. Google's Workspace whitepaper says "Google manages cryptographic keys on behalf of its customers". Microsoft says it manages all cryptographic keys by default for OneDrive for Business. Dropbox says it manages file encryption on users' behalf and creates and stores the keys.
The Google and Microsoft pages describe business products. Microsoft's OneDrive help page says each file is encrypted at rest with its own AES-256 key, protected by master keys in Azure Key Vault. That protects against a stolen disk or a tapped network, not against the provider's own systems.
In Cloud Space the keys never reach the servers, on every plan. The server keeps ciphertext, sizes and dates only, and file names and folders are encrypted too.
What can each service read in my files?
When a provider manages the keys, its systems can open your files, which is what makes server-side search, previews and malware scanning possible. The providers' own pages show this from the other side: when you turn on end-to-end encryption, those features stop working for the protected files.
- Google: client-side encrypted files "aren't scanned for phishing and malware, because Google's servers don't have access to the content", and their content can't be searched or previewed (FAQ). Titles and labels stay unencrypted metadata.
- Microsoft: a business that supplies its own root keys with Customer Key still authorizes Microsoft 365 to use them "to deliver value-added services like eDiscovery, anti-malware, anti-spam, and search indexing" (Microsoft).
- Dropbox: encrypted team folders have no search indexing, previews, thumbnails, content search or shared links (Dropbox).
Cloud Space works like those protected folders, for every file: nothing on the server can be searched, previewed or scanned.
Do Gemini in Google Drive and Copilot in OneDrive read my files?
Yes, when you use them. Google says you ask Gemini questions about files, folders and emails you add as sources, and Microsoft says Copilot answers questions about information in your files. Both need an eligible plan or licence. They work because the service can read what you point them at.
Google says suggested files "are not used by Ask Gemini until you explicitly add them" (Google). Microsoft says Copilot can summarize files stored on OneDrive "without the need to open them individually" (Microsoft), and Dropbox lists Dropbox AI among the features its encrypted team folders cannot use (Dropbox). This is a trade-off, not a flaw. Cloud Space has no such feature, because MyNoteVault cannot read your files.
Do Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox offer end-to-end encryption?
Not by default. Google and Dropbox each offer an option they call end-to-end encryption, on selected business, education or team plans. Microsoft does not use that term; its nearest option, Double Key Encryption, keeps one of two keys with the customer. Double Key Encryption comes with Microsoft 365 E5. Google lists client-side encryption for Frontline Plus, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus. Dropbox offers encrypted team folders on Business Plus, Advanced and Enterprise.
Each has a cost, and the providers' own pages say what it is:
- Google: it describes the option as "end-to-end encryption that Google servers and third parties can't decrypt". You can search encrypted files by title and owner, not by content, and you can't preview them (FAQ).
- Microsoft: one key stays with the customer, and viewing needs both. OneDrive can't process these files: they can't be opened in Office for the web, and coauthoring, eDiscovery, data loss prevention, search and Copilot don't work on them (Microsoft).
- Dropbox: no previews, content search, shared links or shared folders, and end-to-end encryption "is currently not available for the Dropbox mobile app". Without a recovery key, locked-out data can't be recovered (Dropbox, last updated December 2023).
All three are business, education or team options. In Cloud Space every plan works this way, for every file: the server cannot search or preview them, and a lost key cannot be recovered.
What do Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox do better than Cloud Space?
A lot, in four areas: sharing and working together, getting back in after a forgotten password, free storage, and searching inside files. If you need any of these, one of the three is the better tool. Cloud Space has none of the four.
- Sharing and collaboration. Google Drive shares with specific people or "Anyone with the link", with viewer, commenter and editor roles (Google). OneDrive shares by link or with specific people, with "Can edit" or "Can view" (Microsoft). Dropbox shares by email or link, with edit or view-only access (Dropbox).
- Account recovery. Each documents a way back in after a forgotten password: Google, Microsoft, Dropbox. Cloud Space has no password or phrase reset.
- Free storage. Google gives up to 15 GB shared across Drive, Gmail and Photos (Google), Microsoft 5 GB shared with Outlook.com attachments and Microsoft 365 apps (Microsoft), and Dropbox Basic 2 GB (Dropbox). Cloud Space has no free plan; the smallest is 1 GB for $19.99 a year.
- Search inside files. Google Drive lets you search by "text within the file" (Google), OneDrive's Android app can "search for text within files and even photos" (Microsoft), and Dropbox has full-text search on selected plans (Dropbox). Cloud Space cannot search file contents.
How do the services compare at a glance?
Cloud Space trades convenience for privacy: the keys stay with you, so the server cannot read, search, preview or scan your files, and nobody can reset your access. The three big drives trade the other way. The table summarizes the sections above, which link their sources.
| Feature | Cloud Space | Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox |
|---|---|---|
| Keys by default | Never reach the servers | Managed by the provider |
| End-to-end encryption | Every plan, every file | Option on selected business or team plans (Microsoft: customer-held key option, not called end-to-end) |
| AI that reads your files | None | Gemini, Copilot, Dropbox AI |
| Search inside files | No | Yes (Dropbox on selected plans) |
| Share by link or invitation | No | Yes |
| Reset after a forgotten sign-in | No | Yes, account recovery |
| Free storage | None | 15 GB, 5 GB, 2 GB |
Each claim about another company links the provider's own page, opened on 21 October 2026. Plans and pages change, so check a link before you rely on a detail.
How does My NoteVault Cloud Space work?
Cloud Space is end-to-end encrypted cloud storage from the makers of My NoteVault. Files are encrypted on your device, in the Android app or the browser, before upload, with AES-256-GCM in 16 MiB parts. The keys never reach the servers, which keep ciphertext, sizes and dates only.
There is no account. A Cloud Space is a Vault ID, an access file named MyNoteVault-<Vault ID>.vaultkey and a secret phrase. The access file is sealed with your phrase (PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256, 100,000 rounds), and signing in is an Ed25519 signature made on your device, so no password is ever sent. One Android phone and one browser can be connected at a time.
One payment covers one year, and nothing renews automatically. The plans are 1 GB at $19.99, 5 GB at $24.99, 10 GB at $34.99, 50 GB at $79.99 and 100 GB at $149.99, in US dollars, with Premium in the My NoteVault app included for that year. After the year, uploads stop and files stay readable and downloadable for 30 days. The Cloud Space page and the pricing page list the plans and show whether Cloud Space is open for purchase.
The costs are the ones above. MyNoteVault cannot recover a lost access file or a forgotten phrase, and without both your files cannot be decrypted by anyone. There are no sharing links, no collaboration and no search inside files. Files are decrypted whole in the browser, so nothing streams, and there is no desktop or iOS app. For the steps, read how to put photos and documents in Cloud Space. For the app's own vault encryption, see the security page.
Can MyNoteVault read my Cloud Space files?
No. Files are encrypted on your device before upload and the keys never reach the servers. The server keeps ciphertext, sizes and dates only, and file names and folders are encrypted too.
What happens if I forget my secret phrase or lose my access file?
Nobody can recover either one, MyNoteVault included. You need both to open your files, and without both they cannot be decrypted by anyone. Keep the access file in at least two safe places and the phrase somewhere safe, such as a password manager.
Should I stop using Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox?
Not necessarily. They are better for sharing, working together, free storage and search. Cloud Space is for files only you should read. You can use both: share through a mainstream drive, and keep private files in Cloud Space. If you would rather keep photos off every cloud, see how to keep photos off the cloud on Android.