Backblaze
Cloud backup service for personal computers, plus B2 S3-compatible object storage.
HN commenters use Backblaze as a cheap off-site layer alongside Time Machine or a NAS,1234 and use its B2 storage as a backend for tools like restic and Kopia.567 The most common complaint is that the computer backup client silently stopped backing up .git folders and Dropbox/OneDrive folders,891011 which led several long-time users to drop it.12131415
Why people recommend it
Low cost · 3
Commenters call it a bargain, citing about $100/year for roughly 16TB and fair usage-based billing.
“Backblaze backs the external drive and all local working files (roughly 16TB altogether) up for ~$100/year.”
“Weirdly, reading this had the net impact of me signing up to Backblaze.”
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“it's very cheap and the billing is fair (usage based billing”
Off-site layer · 3
Used as the off-site copy alongside Time Machine, a NAS or an external SSD.
“I use Time Machine and Backblaze”
“currently I primarily use Backblaze for that purpose but am considering alternatives for several reasons”
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“My wife’s backups also go on BackBlaze”
B2 backend · 3
B2 works as a storage target for restic, Kopia and similar tools, giving users control over exclusions and retention.
“Glad I switched from their personal computer backup”
“another on Backblaze”
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“Backblaze might be a nicer backend to use.”
Hands-off setup · 3
People install it on family and non-technical friends' machines so they don't have to worry about backups.
“I've used Backblaze backup for a long time (for my non-techinical friends)”
“My wife’s backups also go on BackBlaze”
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“We are going to drop blackblaze over this”
Caveats and dissent
Silent exclusions · 3
The client stopped backing up .git folders and cloud-synced folders without notifying users.
“it was a silent one. No banner, no email, no opt-out prompt”
“Not backing up .git folders however is completely unacceptable.”
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“We are going to drop blackblaze over this”
Broad exclusions · 2
Some file types and drives are excluded, such as VMware VM files and some non-USB external drives.
“VMware VMs files were excluded from the backup. They are so many exclusion”
“I've used Backblaze backup for a long time (for my non-techinical friends)”
Restore failures · 3
Users report finding files missing only when they tried to restore them.
“I've had Backblaze _fail to restore a file_.”
“We are going to drop blackblaze over this”
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“VMware VMs files were excluded from the backup. They are so many exclusion”
Users leaving · 3
Several commenters switched to restic with B2 or R2, or to self-managed backups.
“I already dropped Backblaze over this stuff and I do not intend to ever consider using them again.”
“Just switched from Backblaze to Cloudflare R2”
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“Glad I switched from their personal computer backup”
Often compared with
2 moved from Backblaze to resticTime Machine5 comments mention bothrsync.net2 comments mention both
1 moved from Backblaze to rsync.net
1 moved from Backblaze to Cloudflare R2
1 moved from Backblaze to Syncthing
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Backblaze has stopped backing up your data 13 mentions
- Ask HN: What Is Your Personal Backup Methods 1 mention
- DeCloudflare 1 mention
- Microsoft deleted my account and OneDrive 1 mention
- Ubiquiti: Enterprise NAS, Built on ZFS 1 mention
- Ask HN: How do you keep your data private? 1 mention
Data: backblaze.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 25
“Backblaze backs the external drive and all local working files (roughly 16TB altogether) up for ~$100/year.”
“I love the free egress from backblaze.”
“My wife’s backups also go on BackBlaze”
“currently I primarily use Backblaze for that purpose but am considering alternatives for several reasons”
“it was a silent one. No banner, no email, no opt-out prompt”
“Glad I switched from their personal computer backup”
“I'm dropping Backblaze and recommending all my friends/customers do the same.”
“I use Backblaze to backup my gaming PC.”
“I already dropped Backblaze over this stuff and I do not intend to ever consider using them again.”
“We are going to drop blackblaze over this”
“Weirdly, reading this had the net impact of me signing up to Backblaze.”
“Not backing up .git folders however is completely unacceptable.”
“Just switched from Backblaze to Cloudflare R2”
“Really lame behavior from backblaze”
“VMware VMs files were excluded from the backup. They are so many exclusion”
“I've had Backblaze _fail to restore a file_.”
“this kind of behavior seems like the first step on the path of enshittification”
“another on Backblaze”
“with backblaze and I periodically sync to a git repo for a second backup”
“something like tossing $5 a month at backblaze backup”
“it's very cheap and the billing is fair (usage based billing”
“I use Time Machine and Backblaze”
“started using BackBlaze for backups”
“Backblaze might be a nicer backend to use.”
“I've used Backblaze backup for a long time (for my non-techinical friends)”