What is a NAS?
A NAS (Network Attached Storage) is a box containing hard drives, plugged into your home router. It makes your files reachable from all your devices, like a cloud, except the data stays at home: no monthly rent, no foreign jurisdiction. The topic continues in chapter 6 of my book, Vivre sans Google.
Information verified on July 13, 2026
A box the size of a toaster, plugged into your router, with hard drives inside. That’s a NAS, short for Network Attached Storage: a small file server that lives at your place. Your photos, documents and backups are reachable from your computer, phone or TV, at home or on the go.
The point? It’s your cloud, without the lease. No subscription that creeps up, no quota to watch, no foreign company hosting your files under its own laws. You buy the hardware once, and the space is yours. To replace Google Drive or Google Photos, it’s the option that takes the logic all the way.
One rule, though: a NAS is not a backup on its own. A burglary, a fire or a drive failure, and everything goes at once. Keep a copy elsewhere, at a relative’s or in an encrypted cloud. Your files at home, yes; your only copy at home, no.
Where it plays out: chapter 6 of the book details the exit from Google Drive, the NAS and local storage category compares the models, and the guide to leaving Google Drive gives the overall picture.
This topic is chapter 6 of my book
It answers these questions, among others:
- how do you empty Google Drive without losing anything, Google Docs included?
- encrypted cloud, NAS or personal server: which one fits your profile?
- and what does a NAS at home really involve, day to day?
Forthcoming 22/10/2026 from Éditions Eyrolles
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Tech jargon, translated
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