Don’t fool yourself. Unfortunately, this app won’t store your exclusive shoe collection. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’ll still be interested if you have as much photos as a shoe collectioner has shoes! Find out more in the full review!
Shoebox is a cross-platform with limitless space to store your photos in. And if you think there is something more to this service, there actually isn’t. In reality, what Shoebox does is backup and organize your photos. What you can additionally do, in the mean time, is share galleries of your favourite moments with friends through social media means or by email.
Signing up
Joining the Shoebox community of photo enthusiasts is really fast. Type your name, email and a password. After going forward with the few welcoming screens, a new one will appear asking you to backup all of your device’s photos.
Upload speed
I can’t say that Shoebox shines with lighting-fast speed, but considering the fact that 300 photos were uploaded for a few minutes, I can’t complain much.
Unlimited space
That is, unless you decide to abuse the site with your excessive photo collections! Shoebox claims the right to suspend accounts if the stored media per individual exceeds the bandwidth or resources estimated for individual use.
Resolution limits
You were probably already wondering where’s the catch in the whole situation? There it is – resolution limitations. Shoebox is a freemium service, so provided you don’t want to pay $5/month, you will have to be satisfied with the 1024p maximum picture resolution of your backed up photos. In the later case, this pixel restriction is lifted and you will be able to view your selfies in their full glory.
Security
After being backed up, photos are encrypted by the AES-256 standard. Upon transfer, though, you only get SSL/TLS encryption. If it is left at that, Shoebox can be considered safe. However, before actually deciding whether to sign up for the service or not, note the service’s Terms section. If you’re fine with Shoebox reserving the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information for various reasons you can read in detail at their site, then security won’t really be an issue for you.
Pros:
Unlimited space
File organization
Cons:
Problems with server (There were two times, when I couldn’t access my photo collection, due to inability to access to the service’s server.)
Security
Verdict is
Given you ever use the cloud for visual media, Shoebox is an affordable alternative. The cross-platform service has a nice, user-friendly interface and besides backing up, you will also be able to enjoy your photos. However, personally I would seek a more secure and stable file backup alternative.
