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Independently verified · Quarterly re-audit
EU VETTED
Curated collection

Cloud storage without US sub-processors

European cloud-storage services verified to run with no US sub-processors — compared on ownership, hosting region, CLOUD Act exposure and sub-processor chain.

In short

The cloud-storage services listed here operate with no US sub-processors in the data path — an EU/EEA/Switzerland operator with no US parent and no US-incorporated processor handling file data. kDrive by Infomaniak (Switzerland, Geneva — own Swiss data centres, ISO 27001) and luckycloud (Germany, Berlin — zero-knowledge encryption on its own German hardware) are the strongest fully-managed options; Nextcloud (Germany, Stuttgart) is the open-source standard, clean as a managed EU service or self-hosted. In cloud storage the exposure usually re-enters through a US CDN in front of the service, an S3-compatible object layer or the operator's US parent — which is why each listing records the full chain, not just where the servers sit.

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Cloud storage without US sub-processors, as listed on this page, means the operating company is incorporated in the EU, EEA or Switzerland, has no US parent in its ownership chain, and routes no file data through a US-incorporated processor at any point in the stack. That is a chain of three facts — operator incorporation, ultimate ownership and the full sub-processor list — and all three must hold. A storage service that keeps files on German servers but fronts them with a US CDN, or an EU brand owned by a US group, does not clear the bar.

This page lists the cloud-storage services in our directory that meet this test, benchmarked on the criteria a buyer evaluates: hosting region, ownership signal, CLOUD Act exposure and the sub-processor chain. Cloud storage is one of the categories where genuinely clean European options exist at depth — operators running their own data centres in Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Slovenia — so the strict bar still leaves real choice, from consumer-friendly managed drives to self-hosted open-source platforms. Every entry is sourced to the vendor's public sub-processor documentation and re-verified quarterly.

Why it matters

The CLOUD Act extends US government reach to data held by any company subject to US jurisdiction, regardless of where the servers physically sit. In cloud storage the primary application and the physical disks are often genuinely European, which can create a false sense of completeness. The exposure typically re-enters one level up or one level down: a US content-delivery network terminating TLS in front of the service, an S3-compatible object layer operated by a US-incorporated provider underneath the branded front-end, a US transactional-email relay sending share notifications, or analytics SDKs reporting usage to a US parent.

File storage also concentrates more raw, unprocessed business content than almost any other SaaS category — contracts, financials, HR documents, source material — so a single reachable processor in the chain exposes a wider cross-section of an organisation's data than, say, a scheduling tool. This is why the directory records ownership and sub-processors as separate, evidenced signals rather than inferring one from the other, and why several services here additionally offer zero-knowledge, client-side encryption: it narrows what any processor could hand over, though it does not change the jurisdictional analysis itself.

How to choose

Start with the deployment model. Fully-managed services (kDrive, luckycloud, Jottacloud, Koofr, STRATO HiDrive, LeitzCloud) behave like the US incumbents — sync clients, sharing, web UI — and suit teams that want zero operations work; compare them on zero-knowledge encryption, own-hardware vs rented data centres, and the operator's country. Self-hosted or hybrid (Nextcloud) puts the operator role in your hands: run it on EU-incorporated infrastructure and the sub-processor question collapses to your own hosting choice, at the cost of running it.

For regulated buyers, any US-incorporated processor in the chain is typically a veto regardless of contractual safeguards, because the CLOUD Act operates independently of contract terms; open each profile and read the full chain, including the CDN and object-store layers, before shortlisting. For small teams and prosumers, price per terabyte and client quality are the binding constraints — several services here are cost-competitive with the US incumbents at standard tiers. For enterprise procurement, combine this page with the certification filters (ISO 27001, BSI C5) and check whether the vendor runs its own data centres or rents from a third party, since that third party is itself part of the chain. Use the sort and filter controls on the listing above to narrow by hosting country, ownership or pricing.

SWITCHING GUIDES

Switching from a US categories.file_sharing tool?

Side-by-side European alternatives — same hosting, ownership and CLOUD Act checks — for the most-replaced categories.file_sharing tools.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Where do US sub-processors usually hide in a cloud-storage stack?
In the layers around the file store rather than the file store itself: a US CDN terminating TLS in front of the service, an S3-compatible object-storage layer operated by a US-incorporated provider, the transactional email relay for sharing notifications, mobile push delivered through US app-platform channels, and product analytics. An EU-hosted storage front-end can still route file or usage data through one of those, which is why we record each sub-processor separately.
What counts as 'no US sub-processors' on this page?
The operating company is EU/EEA/Swiss, has no US parent, and uses no US-incorporated sub-processor in the data path — the directory's 'CLOUD Act exposure: none' bar, verified against each vendor's public sub-processor list and ownership records.
Is EU hosting alone enough to escape the CLOUD Act?
No. EU hosting addresses where data sits, not which jurisdiction can compel the operator. A US parent company or a US-incorporated processor in the chain keeps the data reachable under the CLOUD Act even with servers in Frankfurt or Paris. Location and jurisdiction are recorded as separate signals on every listing.
Do Swiss and Norwegian providers count as 'European' here?
Yes, with the distinction kept visible. The bar is an EU/EEA/Switzerland operator outside US jurisdiction: Norway is in the EEA and fully under the GDPR; Switzerland holds an EU adequacy decision and its own strong data-protection law. Each listing names the operator's actual country so buyers who need EU-member-state incorporation specifically can filter for it.
Can I migrate from Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive without losing structure?
Generally yes. Most services here support WebDAV and tools like rclone, and several offer native importers that preserve folder structure; what rarely transfers is share links and granular permissions, which need re-creating. Each profile notes the import paths the vendor documents.
Methodology

How we verified every listing here.

For each product we read the public DPA, sub-processors document, hosting region declaration, certifications, and corporate ownership records. Each is timestamped. Signals are editorial, re-verified quarterly. We never accept self-attestation.

Read methodology →