Migrate to/from HiDrive STRATO (German Cloud Storage)

What is HiDrive?

HiDrive is the cloud-storage product from STRATO, a German hosting company (subsidiary of IONOS / United Internet) that has run its own datacenters in Germany since 1997. Where US-controlled clouds like Google Drive and OneDrive raise CLOUD Act concerns for German enterprises, HiDrive is positioned squarely as the German alternative: data stored exclusively in ISO-certified datacenters in Germany, GDPR-compliant by hosting choice, and AV-Vertrag (data-processing-agreement) signable directly from the customer area. Personal HiDrive plans start around €5–10 per month for 1 TB; HiDrive Business adds team management and starts at low promotional rates (often €0.50/month for 1 TB for 12 months, then €5/month). HiDrive S3 is the newer S3-compatible object-storage variant for developer workloads.

Two technical quirks shape how third-party tools integrate with HiDrive. First, the API limits per single HTTP request to 2 GiB; files above that need chunked transfer (HiDrive's API automatically chunks files larger than 96 MiB). Second, WebDAV access is protocol-bounded to 4 GB per file — a hard limit you can't tune around because it's an HTTP-protocol constraint applied by HiDrive's WebDAV gateway. CloudsLinker uses HiDrive's OAuth-authenticated REST API rather than WebDAV, so the 4 GB WebDAV cap doesn't apply — only the 2 GiB per-request limit, with chunked transfer handling larger files transparently. The OAuth refresh token is valid for 60 days and auto-extends on each use.

Key features of HiDrive

German datacenters, GDPR by hosting

HiDrive runs only in ISO-certified German datacenters. Data residency is contractually guaranteed via STRATO's AV-Vertrag (data-processing agreement) — important for German healthcare, legal, and government workloads.

Personal plans from €5/month

HiDrive 1 TB typically priced around €5/month after promotional rates. Larger plans (5 TB, 10 TB) and HiDrive Business with team management at higher tiers.

HiDrive Business 1 TB: €0.50/mo intro

Promotional rate of €0.50/month for the first 12 months on HiDrive Business 1 TB, then €5/month. Common entry point for small German businesses.

API: 2 GiB per request, 96 MiB chunk threshold

HiDrive API limits single HTTP requests to 2 GiB. Files above 96 MiB auto-trigger chunked transfer. CloudsLinker handles these limits transparently — files up to multi-TB transfer fine.

WebDAV: 4 GB protocol cap

HiDrive's WebDAV gateway is bounded to 4 GB per file by HTTP protocol limits. CloudsLinker uses OAuth + HTTP API instead, sidestepping this cap entirely.

OAuth refresh token: 60 days

Native-application refresh tokens valid for 60 days; automatically extended on each use. CloudsLinker maintains refresh transparently — no re-authorization required for active accounts.

Why connect HiDrive to CloudsLinker

CloudsLinker connects to HiDrive via STRATO's official OAuth 2.0 flow with read/write file scopes. Once authorized, transfers run server-to-server through HiDrive's HTTP API — chunked transfer kicks in automatically for files above 96 MiB, with 2 GiB per single request as the hard cap. The connector works against all HiDrive plans (Personal, Business, S3) and respects HiDrive's API rate limits. Use as source for migrating off HiDrive (sometimes paired with consolidation onto OneDrive for Microsoft 365 alignment), as destination for German-jurisdiction backup of other clouds, or for ongoing scheduled sync.

What you can do with HiDrive on CloudsLinker

OAuth-based migration

Migrate from Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or S3 into HiDrive via OAuth — no API keys to manage, no risk of credential exposure on shared machines.

Runs on our servers

HiDrive transfers execute on CloudsLinker infrastructure. Useful when migrating from a fast cloud source where the German colocation doesn't matter for ingest speed.

Scheduled & incremental sync

Hourly / daily / weekly schedules with delta mode — useful for keeping a German-jurisdiction backup synced from your active commercial cloud.

Filter by folder, type, size

Migrate only specific HiDrive folders, exclude files larger than 2 GiB (single-request cap), or sync only office documents.

Common HiDrive transfer scenarios

Migrate Google Drive → HiDrive for German GDPR-aligned backup

German enterprises with privacy or compliance concerns about US-controlled clouds (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365) often migrate primary file storage to HiDrive for the German-datacenter guarantee. CloudsLinker copies entire user Google Drive content to HiDrive preserving folder hierarchy — typical 100 GB user account migrates in a few hours, multi-user organization tenancy in a weekend.

Off-site backup of HiDrive to S3 / Wasabi for redundancy

Even with German datacenters, single-vendor risk matters. Schedule a CloudsLinker nightly incremental from HiDrive to Wasabi ($6.99/TB) or B2 ($6/TB) for true cross-vendor redundancy with Object Lock immutability.

Migrate from HiDrive → Microsoft 365 for ecosystem consolidation

If your team standardizes on Microsoft 365, moving HiDrive content into OneDrive for Business / SharePoint reduces tool sprawl. CloudsLinker handles the cross-vendor migration via HiDrive OAuth + Microsoft Graph OAuth, preserving folder structure and modification times.

Hybrid: HiDrive for active work, Storj for E2E-encrypted archive

HiDrive offers German-datacenter convenience but not zero-knowledge encryption. Pair it with Storj's decentralized E2E-encrypted network for cold archive — CloudsLinker filters by modification date, moves cold projects from HiDrive to Storj at $4/TB.

Cross-EU jurisdiction redundancy: HiDrive + Scaleway + Hetzner

Maintain redundant copies across three independent EU-jurisdiction clouds — HiDrive (Germany STRATO), Scaleway (France Iliad), Hetzner Storage Box (Germany different operator). CloudsLinker handles cross-cloud sync between any pair, useful for compliance-heavy multi-cloud architectures.

How to connect HiDrive to CloudsLinker

HiDrive uses standard OAuth 2.0 through STRATO’s authorization page.

Connection steps

Open CloudsLinker and click Add Cloud → choose HiDrive.
The browser redirects to STRATO’s official authorization page (my.hidrive.com / www.hidrive.strato.com). Verify the domain before entering credentials.
Sign in with the STRATO account that owns the HiDrive plan you want to connect.
Review the requested scopes — CloudsLinker requests file read/write permissions. Click Allow.
You’re redirected back to CloudsLinker with the connection active. HiDrive appears in your cloud list, ready to use as source or destination.

Refresh token

HiDrive’s OAuth refresh token is valid for 60 days and automatically extends each time CloudsLinker uses it. Active connections never need re-authorization; only after 60 days of complete inactivity does the token expire.

HiDrive S3 alternative

If you have an HiDrive S3 plan (developer-focused, S3-compatible), use the generic S3 connector with STRATO’s S3 endpoint instead — not this OAuth-based HiDrive connector. The S3 product uses Access Key + Secret + region endpoint similar to AWS S3 or Wasabi.

Revoke access

To revoke CloudsLinker’s OAuth access later: STRATO account portal → Account → Connected applications → find CloudsLinker → Revoke. The access token becomes immediately invalid; reconnect by re-running the OAuth flow.

HiDrive upload & download limits you should know

HiDrive’s API limits are unusual — the per-HTTP-request cap and the WebDAV 4 GB protocol limit are the two numbers to remember:

API per-request limit: 2 GiB for single HTTP requests.
Chunked transfer threshold: 96 MiB — files above this auto-use HiDrive’s chunked upload, allowing arbitrarily large files.
WebDAV protocol cap: 4 GB per file — a hard HTTP-protocol limit on HiDrive’s WebDAV gateway. CloudsLinker uses OAuth API, sidestepping this.
OAuth refresh token: 60 days, auto-extended on each use.
Storage tiers:
- HiDrive 1 TB: typically ~€5/month
- HiDrive 5 TB / 10 TB: progressively more
- HiDrive Business 1 TB: €0.50/month introductory for first 12 months, then €5/month
Datacenters: ISO-certified, exclusively in Germany.
GDPR: hosting-based compliance via STRATO’s German jurisdiction.
AV-Vertrag (data-processing agreement): signable directly from the customer portal.
HiDrive S3 (separate product): S3-compatible object-storage variant for developer workloads — different connector, similar to AWS S3.
Encryption: at-rest server-side encryption; HTTPS for transit. No client-side end-to-end encryption (use Filen / Proton Drive / Storj for that).
Trash retention: typically 30 days, configurable per plan.
API rate limits: STRATO throttles aggressive patterns; CloudsLinker handles back-off automatically.

Sources: STRATO HiDrive: Cloud-Speicher, HiDrive Developer: HTTP API Reference, IONOS: HiDrive WebDAV setup, STRATO HiDrive Business pricing.

HiDrive + CloudsLinker — Frequently Asked Questions

Why use HiDrive instead of OneDrive or Google Drive?

Three reasons: (1) German datacenter guarantee for GDPR / data-residency compliance — STRATO is a German company, and HiDrive's AV-Vertrag (data-processing agreement) is German-law-bound. (2) No US CLOUD Act exposure, unlike Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace which remain US-controlled at parent level. (3) Flat-rate pricing with no per-user gotchas. The trade-off: smaller ecosystem and fewer integrations than the US hyperscalers.

What's the maximum file size on HiDrive?

Via OAuth API (CloudsLinker's path): 2 GiB per HTTP request; files above 96 MiB auto-use chunked transfer, allowing arbitrarily large files. Via WebDAV (alternative path): 4 GB protocol-imposed cap per file. CloudsLinker uses the OAuth API path, so the WebDAV 4 GB cap doesn't apply.

Are my HiDrive credentials safe with CloudsLinker?

Yes. CloudsLinker uses OAuth — your HiDrive password never leaves STRATO's own login page. CloudsLinker only receives a revocable access token. The OAuth refresh token is valid for 60 days and auto-extends on use; you can revoke access anytime from STRATO's account portal.

How does HiDrive S3 differ from HiDrive Personal?

HiDrive Personal / Business is the user-friendly file-sync product (similar to OneDrive / Dropbox in UX). HiDrive S3 is STRATO's S3-compatible object-storage offering targeted at developers and backup workloads — accessed with S3 keys + endpoint, not OAuth. CloudsLinker has separate connectors: HiDrive (OAuth-based, this page) and HiDrive S3 (S3-based, configured similarly to AWS S3 / Wasabi). Pick by your use case.

What's the storage limit on HiDrive plans?

Plans typically offer 1 TB, 5 TB, or 10 TB depending on tier. HiDrive Business plans support per-user storage allocations with team management. Beyond 10 TB requires custom enterprise pricing — contact STRATO sales.

Does HiDrive support 2FA?

Yes — TOTP-based 2FA can be enabled from your STRATO account. OAuth-based connections (which CloudsLinker uses) handle 2FA during the OAuth handshake transparently. WebDAV connections (alternative path) require an app-specific approach for 2FA.

Does HiDrive offer a free tier?

STRATO occasionally offers free trial periods on HiDrive plans, but no permanent free tier comparable to Google Drive's 15 GB or OneDrive's 5 GB. The HiDrive Business 1 TB €0.50/month introductory rate for 12 months is the cheapest entry point.

How fast can CloudsLinker push data into HiDrive?

Typical throughput is 100–300 GB/day per HiDrive connection, depending on source-cloud egress speed and HiDrive's API throughput. From cloud sources (S3, Google Drive), the bottleneck is usually the source's egress bandwidth, not HiDrive ingest.

Can I migrate between two HiDrive accounts?

Yes. Connect each account as a separate cloud in CloudsLinker via OAuth, then run an account-to-account copy. Folder structure and modification times transfer; sharing permissions don't (they're account-scoped).

Is this an official STRATO partnership?

No. CloudsLinker is a third-party tool that uses HiDrive's public OAuth API. Revoke access by revoking the CloudsLinker app from STRATO's account portal → Connected applications.

Conclusion

STRATO HiDrive is the dominant German-jurisdiction cloud-storage option — ISO-certified German datacenters, GDPR by hosting choice, and competitive flat-rate pricing for users who want their data outside US-controlled infrastructure. CloudsLinker connects via OAuth (avoiding the 4 GB WebDAV cap) and handles HiDrive's 2 GiB single-request limit via chunked transfer transparently. Connect with OAuth and run your first GDPR-aligned migration in minutes.

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