

I read that they walked it back but only partially. And the fact they tried it tells me they can’t be trusted with my data.
They also make it very difficult to move your data off their NAS once it’s on there, because everything is proprietary.
Your best option remains open source with commodity hardware. Had I known what I know now in 2023, I would have probably just built a low power PC server with TruNAS.


For learning, VMs are fine. Spin up as many as you’d like. Install, duplicate, reinstall, delete at will. I would start there.
Then, while you’re learning, set aside since money to get an SBC or mini pc. That will allow you to keep it running as a server continuously. Phones can work for this, but to act as servers you’ll probably need to root them.
Computers are way more expensive than they used to be but within reach for most people if you can save up for it.
Check thrift stores, Facebook, eBay, the usual suspects. Watch out for PCs stripped for RAM and other shenanigans, though.