How many times have you butted up against your device's storage limit? This is especially a problem on limited-capacity devices like a MacBook. If you want to extend your storage options immediately---without deleting any data---you need a cloud storage account.

Let's look at how you can free up space on your device using encrypted cloud storage service pCloud.

What Is pCloud?

pCloud is a Switzerland-based cloud storage company with over 9 million users. It offers secure, multi-platform cloud storage that any user can easily make use of.

The pCloud storage drive works with Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Furthermore, you can use the handy Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera browser extensions to quickly save data from the internet to your drive directly.

pCloud comes equipped with a number of handy tools, too. For instance, pCloud allows you to upload any type of file, regardless of size. It also preserves the quality of your HD video collection, where other services force you to compress or simply refuse to host them.

The pCloud file sharing interface is also one of the best of any cloud storage service, too. It integrates perfectly with Windows.

Free Up Storage Space Using pCloud

Cheap and easy-to-use cloud storage is a blessing for users of all device types. You can easily expand your storage without deleting any data, as well as share your important documents between devices without any hassle at all.

But how do you set up pCloud to free up the space to begin with? Let's take a look.

1. Download, Install, and Log into pCloud

pCloud welcome to pCloud storage drive

First, head to the pCloud download page.

Browse to your operating system using the tabs at the top. In this guide, images refer to Windows 10 and Android (though pCloud is very similar on all platforms).

Once downloaded, install pCloud Drive. After installation completes, open the app. You will need to create a pCloud account to continue. Make sure to use a strong password.

2. Configure Your pCloud Account

pCloud user account storage capacity

In this case, configuring means validating your account. Validating your email address grabs you an extra 1GB of pCloud Drive storage. If you download and log into the pCloud mobile app, you'll earn another 1GB of space.

The pCloud web client has a short checklist for you to review. Each task extends your storage by another 1GB, so they're worth running through. Plus, adding the pCloud mobile app to your device allows you to move files between your mobile and desktop without any trouble.

3. Transfer Files to Back Up Your Data

plcoud in windows explorer

You're now ready to begin moving files to your pCloud Drive storage folder to free up space on your device.

Head to This PC. You might note the new pCloud Drive (P) under your Devices and drives section. Open the pCloud Drive folder, and inside you will find several additional folders.

pCloud names these folders for Music, Pictures, Videos, and so on, but you can change them to suit you. Furthermore, if you want to create a new folder, go ahead. It will sync across the web and mobile clients, too.

pcloud drive sync options

Now, back to the file transfers: open the folder you want to transfer files from. You can either:

  • Select the files you want and press CTRL + C to copy them. Then select the pCloud destination folder, and press CTRL + V to paste. Or:
  • Select the files you want, then drag and drop them into the pCloud destination folder.

Press CTRL while selecting to add multiple files, like so:

select multiple files at one time

After you transfer your files, you can choose to delete the originals to free up space on your device. If you have limited space, hitting delete with the knowledge your files are safe and sound is quite handy.

Alternatively, if you're using pCloud Drive as a storage bridge between devices, you can keep your original copies in the same place.

4. Turn on Automatic Upload (Mobile Device) to Free Up Space

Note: If you're not using the iOS or Android pCloud app, you can skip this section.

Install the pCloud app on your iOS or Android device. Once installed, open the app and sign into pCloud. After you sign in, the app will ask if you want to turn on Automatic Upload. This is a pCloud mobile app feature that automatically uploads your mobile device pictures and videos to your pCloud storage.

Otherwise, in the mobile app:

  1. Press the hamburger icon in the top-left corner to open the pCloud Settings panel.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Scroll down and select Automatic Upload.
  4. Select Automatic Upload > Preferences to set which types of files to upload.

The Automatic Upload feature is excellent if you're looking to free up space on your mobile device. pCloud automatically locates your media folders and uploads them to a corresponding Automatic Upload folder in your pCloud account.

Your media is then available across all devices while creating more space on the host device. It's a win-win!

5. Turn on pCloud Crypto to Encrypt Your Files

pCloud set up crypto pass

Another excellent pCloud feature is its client-side drive encryption, using "military-level" encryption to keep your files secure.

(What is military-level encryption? In most cases, when organizations say "military-level" or "military-grade" encryption, they're talking about the extremely strong AES-256 encryption standard.)

pCloud Crypto, then, makes sure no one can access the data in the pCloud Crypto folder on your device unless you have the correct password. Furthermore, pCloud states that it "as a service provider is unable to decrypt any hosted data."

pCloud has your back, even if you don't turn on pCloud Crypto. That's because pCloud encrypts all your cloud files at rest on its servers, using the same AES-256 encryption. All of your files upload and download using TLS encryption, too, keeping your files safe in transit.

pCloud Frees Up Space on Your Device

There are several excellent cloud storage providers available to choose from. pCloud ranks among the best for its mixture of security, privacy, encryption, and file sharing functionality. If you sign up now, you'll get 10GB of storage for free.

Better still, you can subscribe on the pCloud Pricing page at a variety of price points to suit your requirements:

  • Monthly Premium 500GB: $4.99 per month
  • Monthly Premium Plus 2TB: $9.99 per month
  • Annual Premium 500GB: $3.99 per month| $47.88 per year
  • Annual Premium Plus 2TB: $7.99 per month | $95.88 per year

pCloud is also currently offering Lifetime subscriptions for both Premium tiers at massively reduced prices:

  • Lifetime Premium 500GB: $175 one-time payment
  • Lifetime Premium Plus 2TB: $350 one-time payment

Finally, pCloud has a special promotion offering 500GB of space, plus encryption, for 50 percent off. No matter which plan you choose, getting a vast amount of storage at such a great price is well worth checking out.