Head-to-head · Cloud Storage
iCloud vs Filen
Which one to pick in 2026 — comparing 🇺🇸 iCloud with the European alternative 🇪🇺 Filen on the things that actually decide who can read your data.
🇺🇸 iCloudvs🇪🇺 Filen
Verdict
Who has stronger privacy guarantees by law?
Filen — GDPR-native and outside the US CLOUD Act / FISA 702 reach.
Which one encrypts your data end-to-end by default?
Filen ships E2E encryption by default. iCloud does not.
Which one tracks you for ads?
Filen also tracks for ads — verify in the table.
Which one is open source?
Filen is open source. iCloud is proprietary.
Side-by-side
iCloud vs Filen — full comparison
Criteria
🇪🇺 Filen
🇺🇸 iCloud
Headquarters
Lengerich, Germany
Cupertino, USA
Jurisdiction
Germany (GDPR)
USA
Data location
Germany
US, partly China for CN users
GDPR-native
Yes
No
CLOUD Act / FISA exposed
No
Yes
Ad tracking
Yes
No
End-to-end encryption
Yes
No
Open source
Yes
No
Ownership
Filen.io UG
Apple Inc.
Founded
2020
2011
Make the switch
Try Filen instead of iCloud
Zero-knowledge encrypted cloud, German made.