Synchronizing data between computers and mobile devices using Syncthing
In Step
Syncthing is a free alternative to BitTorrent Sync for synchronizing data on computers and mobile devices.
Users have several reasons for synchronizing data between different devices. Synchronization lets you keep directories with the same contents on a workstation and on a laptop, or you can use synchronization to back up a video or music collection.
Popular services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and other providers offer an easy means to synchronize files, but many users aren't comfortable with the privacy concerns associated with public cloud services. An alternative remote synchronization tool is BitTorrent Sync [1], which is based on the BitTorrent protocol's peer-to-peer (P2P) [2] system. Of course, many Linux users want as much Free Software as possible: BitTorrent Sync does not meet this requirement – the program is distributed as freeware, but the source code is not open.
Syncthing [3] (Figure 1) has been available as a free alternative since 2014. Like BitTorrent Sync, Syncthing uses peer-to-peer technology; however, its source code is licensed under the Mozilla Public License [4].
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