You already know Big Tech harvests your data. Here is the alternative.
Bigby is private, encrypted cloud storage built for people who have thought carefully about where their files live and who can see them. UK-based, funded entirely by subscription, and with no commercial reason to access your data. No data deals, no exceptions.
Free cloud storage is not free. You know this. The question is what you do about it.
Google, Microsoft, and Apple offer cloud storage at little or no cost because the data you store has commercial value to them. That is not a conspiracy theory. It is their business model, stated plainly in their terms of service and reflected in their balance sheets.
For privacy-conscious users, the problem is not awareness. It is finding a credible alternative that does not require compromising on usability, price, or trust. Bigby is built to be that alternative. Not as a political statement, but as a practical product with a straightforward commercial model that does not depend on your data.
What is actually happening to your data
None of this is hidden. It is in the terms almost nobody reads. Here is a plain account of what storing files on a major platform typically involves.
Your files are readable by the platform
Standard cloud storage is not end-to-end encrypted. Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive can all read the contents of your files. They use this access for content scanning, feature development, compliance purposes, and in some cases AI training. If you store something on these platforms, you are storing it with someone who can open it.
AI training on stored content
Several major platforms have updated their terms to permit stored content to be used in AI model development. Documents, photos, and files you store today may contribute to training data for systems built tomorrow. The terms that permit this are often broad, retroactive, and difficult to opt out of in any meaningful way.
Data held under US jurisdiction
The major cloud providers are US companies. Your data, even if stored on UK or European servers, is subject to US law. The CLOUD Act gives US authorities a mechanism to compel access to data held by US companies regardless of where it is physically stored. For people who take jurisdiction seriously, that matters.
Terms that can change at any time
Privacy policies are not contracts. They can be updated unilaterally, often with minimal notice. A platform that does not train AI on your data today may do so next year. A platform that does not share data with third parties today may acquire a business that does. Policy promises are only as good as the incentive to keep them.
How Bigby works
A business model built around your privacy, not against it
The difference between Bigby and the major platforms is not just what we promise. It is what we have any reason to do. A subscription business has no incentive to scan, mine, or sell your data.
01. Encrypted at rest
Your files are encrypted on our UK servers. The data stored on our infrastructure is in encrypted form, which provides meaningful protection in the event of a storage breach and ensures your files are not sitting as readable plain text on any server.
02. No access to file contents
Bigby does not open, scan, or read the contents of what you store. We have no business reason to and our data processing terms prohibit it. What you store is not a resource to be analysed or monetised.
03. No AI training or secondary use
Your stored content is not used for AI training, advertising targeting, or any analysis of any kind. The subscription fee covers the cost of running the service. That is the entire arrangement.
04. UK data residency, UK law
All data is stored on UK-based infrastructure. UK GDPR applies. There is no US parent company, no transfer to overseas servers, and no exposure to foreign jurisdiction. What you store with Bigby stays in the UK, under UK law.
Frequently asked questions
How is Bigby different from Dropbox or Google Drive with encryption turned on?
Dropbox and Google Drive encrypt data but scan the contents, train AI on your files, and build their business models around the data you give them. Bigby uses encryption at rest and does not access the contents of your files. We are a subscription business. Your storage fee is what pays for the service. There is no advertising model, no AI training pipeline, and no profile being built from what you store.
Will Bigby’s terms change and erode these guarantees over time?
The privacy guarantee is in our business model. We charge a subscription fee. We do not need to scan your data to operate. A future owner would face the same structural position: a subscription product where scanning or mining user data would undermine the reason customers are paying. We are committed to making our data handling terms clear and to giving users meaningful notice of any material changes.
What happens if Bigby is acquired or goes under?
Your files are always yours to download via WebDAV, an open standard that works with a wide range of tools. You are never locked in and there are no export fees. If Bigby were ever acquired, we would give users notice and the option to export their data before any change in ownership took effect.
Is Bigby open source?
Bigby is built on an open source stack. The underlying technologies are auditable and have been independently reviewed by the broader open source community. We are committed to transparency about how the system works and will publish technical documentation for those who want to verify the encryption implementation rather than take our word for it.
What is Bigby’s business model?
Subscription revenue. That is the whole model. You pay for storage, that payment covers the cost of running the service with a margin on top. There is no advertising, no data brokering, no investor pressure to monetise user data, and no free tier that needs to be subsidised by selling something else. The incentive structure is aligned with keeping your data private, because that is what you are paying for.
How does Bigby compare to other privacy-focused storage providers?
There are other privacy-focused storage providers, some of which offer end-to-end encryption. What distinguishes Bigby is UK data residency, a UK-based team, UK GDPR as the governing framework, and pricing designed for individuals and small teams rather than enterprise. If you want your data to stay in the UK under UK law, run by a UK company, Bigby is the option built specifically for that.
Private storage that earns the word private
Encrypted, UK-based cloud storage from £3.99 per month. No data harvesting, no AI training, no business model that depends on your files.
Annual billing · All prices in GBP · UK data residency · GDPR compliant