Self-Hosted File Servers — Your own cloud, and your own server to run
Nextcloud is the answer many IT teams reach for when files must not go into somebody else's cloud: install the server on your own infrastructure and the files live there instead. It is a full platform — sync to every device, groups and access rules, auditing, link sharing with expiry and one-time passwords, and end-to-end encryption for the folders users choose in the desktop and mobile apps.
It is also a server. Someone installs it (on Linux or in a container; the server does not run on Windows), keeps it patched, backs it up, and exposes it to the internet if people outside the office need it. Every shared file is stored on that server, which is the point of a file server: the copy is yours, and so is the job of protecting it.
Privatta answers a narrower question with no server at all: a file goes straight from one computer to another, and nothing keeps a copy in between. For a shared library that the whole organisation syncs, Nextcloud is the better tool. For handing a file to one person without standing up infrastructure, Privatta is.
- The copy lives on a server you own — better than a vendor's cloud, still a copy to secure and back up
- Needs a server and someone to run it; Privatta installs as a desktop app on each end
- End-to-end encryption is per folder and chosen in the clients; Privatta encrypts every transfer
- Broader platform: sync, chat and office documents, with apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS
- Correct choice for a central, synced file library; heavier than needed for direct handovers