Last Updated on April 16, 2026 by Team TBH
Most people use the term “cloud storage” as if their data is being stored in a literal cloud, in this ethereal, mythical place where no actual space is being occupied. From an individual user’s point of view, cloud storage is really that since their files, photos, and videos are not stored locally on the smartphone they’re holding in their hand. As a user, you may have 1TB worth of videos and photos stored while your phone has 128 GB. Sounds magical, right?
The other aspect of this thought process is related to how people think that digital files don’t have material existence. For example, in the past, to have a photo, you’d have to capture it on film, have it developed, and have this piece of paper on which the photo exists. That’s physical material that you can touch. Digital photos, on the other hand, have no physical existence, and that’s why they’re more eco-friendly, because they don’t use paper.
However, even digital files and photos have to have some sort of physical existence, and that physical location is the server that holds your cloud storage. The fact that you can access your cloud storage anytime you want means that the servers on which that cloud exists have to run 24/7. These servers are usually a part of huge data centres, usually the size of a small town, running around the clock, consuming energy and creating e-waste in addition to water waste, as their cooling systems use enormous amounts of water.
The energy consumed by data centres is expected to increase by 100% in 2026. As for the greenhouse gas emissions, CO2, in other words, data centres have already exceeded the emissions of the world aviation industry before the pandemic.
As individuals, we have a part to play in this. As our need for larger cloud storage spaces continues, data centres are only going to get larger, consume more resources, and create more waste and e-waste.
In this post, we’re looking at the reality of cloud storage and how to reduce the harmful environmental effects of it.
The “Million-to-One” Energy Ratio
The energy consumption and environmental exhaustion of cloud storage are caused by the data storage of millions, if not billions, of users collectively around the world. However, we must take a look at these effects on an individual level to gain an understanding of how your actions as one person on this matter will make a difference.
Since every person’s cloud storage needs differ, let’s look at the environmental cost of saving 1GB on the cloud:
- Annual storage: Storing 1GB on the cloud for a year consumes up to 7.0 kWh of electricity and creates about 2.0 kg of CO2 emissions. This is electricity alone, not to mention the water waste in the cooling systems.
- One-time transfer: To transfer that 1GB to the server, i.e., store it initially on the cloud, it consumes up to 0.066 kWh of electricity and creates about 0.05 kg of CO2 emissions.
Keeping the same 1GB on your phone’s storage or a flash memory drive consumes no energy and creates no CO2 emissions, as it’s not transferred millions of miles via fiber optic cables to be stored in a remote location.
These are not the numbers for a single user; these are the numbers for a single Gigabyte. While reports showed an average of 120GB of cloud storage per person, in 2026, the estimate grew significantly to 500GB per person!
To get more perspective, ThreadGold Consulting found in 2025 that 62% of adults in the UK are using and depending on cloud storage regularly.
This is why, in 2026, we need a shift in storage perspective from an “access from anywhere” priority to an “energy conservation” priority by limiting our cloud storage usage and finding more eco-friendly ways to save our data.
How to Transition to “Strategic Localism”
While cloud storage has its undeniable benefits, the harm comes from uncalculated use of it. When we start to collectively default to cloud storage for everything without discernment, that’s when the need for more data centres appears, massive E-waste is created, and large quantities of resources are wasted.
To make better storage decisions going forward, we need to understand what cloud storage is for and what it is not for.
- Cloud minimum usage: As we mentioned before, the cloud should be for important data that you need to access from multiple devices or even any device by logging into your account. That applies to your work files, but not to 4K videos of family Christmas mornings!
- Cold storage: Research has indeed shown that most cloud spaces are used for photos and videos that are better stored on what is called cold storage.
For memories like family photos, videos of a trip with friends, or the 4000 blurry photos of your pet, cold storage is the best option, as you get to keep them without having them consume power without ever being opened or looked at more than once a year, if at all.
- Smartphone internal memory: There is also the middle ground where you’d have files to which you don’t need constant and instant access, which disqualifies them from cloud storage, but, at the same time, you can’t put them on an external drive in a drawer. This is where the internal storage of your own device comes in.
Practical steps: How To Do It
Giving general recommendations is always easy. Keep your high-res files on a local storage, fine, but where to begin when you have years’ worth of files both on your phone and on the cloud?
The easiest option here is to leave the past in the past and start the new eco-aware practice of keeping only important small-sized files on the cloud while arranging local storage options for your personal and large-sized photos and videos.
If you, however, want to make the effort, first kudos, then let’s follow these steps:
- The Audit: Start by dedicating some time to going through your saved photos and videos on the cloud and delete that photo that have multiple versions for no reason.
- The Rule: If you didn’t need it for the past 5 years and/or you don’t remember what it was for, you’re not going to need it in the future. Delete it!
- The Sync: Turn off the auto-syncing option to stop sending unnecessary files to the cloud. Sync the cloud-worthy files yourself to minimize usage.
- The Device: If you need to, upgrade your smartphone to a version with larger internal memory space to allow saving more photos and videos on it before they must be moved to an external hard drive, not the cloud!
While smartphone prices increase as their internal memory storage gets larger, you don’t have to spend a fortune to upgrade to a larger memory mobile. In fact, you can get a 128GB or 256GB phone at a price comparable to that of a mid-range phone.
Refurbished smartphones are a fantastic option that gives you a high-end brand phone, like an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy S phone, at an affordable price. If you choose a refurbished seller that offers good deals, you’ll get extras as well.
QwikFone, for example, provides essential accessories with their refurbished phones for free. Their deals are covered with a 12-month warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee if you want to return the phone. If you want the device to use just as a storage space beside your main phone, you will benefit from QwikFone having various condition phones. You can get a mobile in a good or average condition with a large memory, and you’d save money and save the environment from cloud storage harms.
Conclusion: Larger Local Storage, Less Costs for Everyone!
The solution to the data centre environmental issues is not to stop using them altogether, but to limit their unnecessary expansion. The way to do this is to rely more on local storage in your own smartphone or other devices and get rid of any excess data or files that you’re keeping for no reason, such as the 10 identical selfies that you will never share or look at again!
Local storage can be sufficient and affordable when you opt for a refurbished smartphone, and reduce the price even more by trading-in your old mobile to be refurbished or recycled.
It’s time we become more conscious of the effects of our minor choices on the big picture, and how a small, unnecessary file contributes to wasting land, electricity, and water, and stop these harmful effects from our end.
To read more content like this, explore The Brand Hopper
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