When I show our personal cloud app to people, they sometimes think it is just a glorified media gallery or camera roll on their phone as it has all of their phone’s pictures and videos. But a closer look shows it has ALL of their pictures and videos, not just from their phone but from everywhere they want, such as their PC or social site. It also has their important digital files and music in one place.

There are several reasons to use a good personal cloud app in addition to the gallery/camera roll - consider:

• Have you run out of storage on your phone and had to delete things so you can take more pictures/videos or download things? Perhaps running out of storage has caused some apps to stop working. This recently happened to my wife, her email stopped working as her phone became full and she had no idea why she wasn’t getting email. In some cases, you might be asked to buy more storage (iCloud) or for adventurous people, if your phone has a micro SD slot, you can insert or upgrade a storage chip, although few people do this. Instead, many people just delete old stuff but they wonder if there is an easy way to avoid this hassle.
• Have you ever lost your phone and wished you could easily get your stuff back on a new phone?
• For iPhone users, most people are vaguely aware they use iCloud, for back up or to store some content like photos, but beyond going into settings or using different built-in iPhone apps, have you ever actually used iCloud to do something? The vast majority of people are only roughly aware of iCloud and stumped on how to use it – isn’t this why Apple has a Genius bar :) ?
• For Android users, the Google equivalent of iCloud is half a dozen different apps and services such as mobile backup, Google Drive, Photos, YouTube and Gmail, some of which you likely use, others you might be vaguely aware of. This is more for advanced users than people who just use phones for everyday activities like messaging, calls, social networking, browsing, maps, etc.

If these ring true (no pun intended), consider using a personal cloud app that:

• Automatically stores all of your important content on your phone in one place so you can safely delete stuff from your phone, while being assured that your content is secure and easily accessible when you want it. This means no more running out of space on your phone and no need to ‘emergency delete’ old stuff or spend money on upgrades or memory chips.
• Makes it simple and quick to get your important stuff onto a new device – if you ever lose your phone or upgrade it, just install the personal cloud app, log in, and your device is good to go.
• Provides one simple place to access and share all of your important stuff, regardless of if you use iPhone, Android or Windows Phone. No need for multiple apps or to hunt for the right app or place to do something, it is all right there in one place.

A good personal cloud app automatically works with the gallery or camera roll on your phone – you continue to use the gallery or camera roll like normal - the personal cloud app complements these by ensuring that all of your important digital content is secure is one place, easily available when you want it and simply shareable.