Government is offering free cloud storage for all citizens: How to claim yours, what you can store, storage space and more

Digilocker drive

As a part of the Digital India initiative, the Indian government introduced DigiLocker, a cloud-based digital platform that lets citizens securely store, access, and share official documents online, with the same legal validity as physical copies. Now, the same service also comes with a free cloud storage solution that allows users to upload a file, photos, videos, etc from their phone or laptop to store securely on the cloud and access it anywhere they want. And, it's called

DigiLocker Drive.
If you are wondering how to claim yours and start storing data, here’s everything you need to know.

DigiLocker Drive: What is it
DigiLocker Drive is a part of the entire DigiLocker initiative. However, instead of letting users find the right document – directly from the host– it lets them upload data from their phone or PC – just like Google Drive, OneDrive, etc. Not only that, it also allows users to create new folders, upload photos, documents or anything else they want to keep securely stored in the cloud and access them anywhere they want.

How to claim DigiLocker Drive cloud storage
- To claim DigiLocker Drive storage, follow these steps:
- Head to DigiLocker website or mobile app
- Login using your credentials – create new if you are new
- Look for Drive option – website has it on the left panel, the app has it at the bottom of the home page.
- Click on it and there you go – you now have 1GB of free cloud storage.
- To start storing files, simply, hit the “+” icon at the top right and choose “Upload Files” or “Create New Folder” if you want to create a new folder.

Digilocker Drive

What else can you do with DigiLocker Drive?
For the files uploaded, there’s also the option to e-sign the documents or files that you’ve uploaded. You can download them anytime and share with others as and when needed.

How much storage is there?
Well, this is where the big difference is. The DigiLocker Drive comes with 1GB cloud storage. And, there’s no way to expand it. However, the idea of DigiLocker Drive is to store important documents, files, etc and not treat it as your device’s data backup solution or photo-video storage solution. The right way to use it is to store document images that are not available on DigiLocker, or some certificates, etc for reference purposes.

Another important thing to note about it is that the documents from Drive – “ are NOT treated as authentic original documents.” So, they can be used as a reference purpose, but not as official documents.