Secure data storage

SURFdrive complies with all Dutch and European privacy legislation. The data are stored safely in the Netherlands and are never made available to third parties. The location of the data is always known. Furthermore, SURF does not share user details with third parties.

For security reasons, you are periodically asked to log back in. For the desktop clients and apps, this is done once every 30 days. If you are logged in to the SURFdrive website via your browser and you close the browser, then you must log in again to re-enter.

SURFdrive doesn't offer any built-in encryption. But of course it is possible to use 3rd-party tools to encrypt files yourself. For this purpose, use a program such as Boxcryptor Classic.

This depends on the agreements you have made with your institution. The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) or a similar document contains the agreements between you as a user and your institution. SURFdrive does not impose any restrictions with regard to this matter.

If you want to share a file or folder with a user who doesn't have access to SURFdrive, you will have to use the "Share link" option. SURFdrive will generate a "public" link to the share, which means that everyone who knows the link will be able to access your share. In principle, this also means that if somebody accidentally guessed the link, he or she will also be able to access your share, even though you didn't tell him/her of your share. To make sure only certain people can access your file/folder, you can protect the link with a self-chosen password.

In addition to password protection, you can also set an expiry date. This renders your shared file or folder unavailable from a certain date onwards.

If you share a ‘public link’ in SURFdrive, you can protect this link with a self-chosen password. In addition to password protecting what you share, you can also set an expiry date. The expiry date makes everything you share unavailable from a certain date onwards.