The Average Learner 
Work flow
Create CloudFlare R2 > Rclone with local crypt > push to remote R2 bucket.
Syncthing for cross device local sync. Backup/sync to R2 only when needed.
Pros
- Low internet usage - I am using mobile plan for all my needs. So it is good that I only back up to R2 when I’m in the library to leverage their free Wi-Fi, haha.
- True encryption, own my data. - Only the local files that lives on my laptop and phone is unencrypted. Anything on the “cloud” is encrypted. No one can see or do machine learning on my files.
- CloudFlare R2 is quite cheap if it’s <1TB - It is pay-as-you-go, although the more files you save the more you need to pay, for low storage, it’s actually cheaper than major tech companies offer, namely Google Drive, OneDrive. And the best of all is that my files are all EE2E, and I have true local copies.
Cons
- Sync inconvenience - I need both machine to run Syncthing to make them sync. Although it is not a major problem to me as I always have them both with me, it is still way easier to have a 3rd party sync service to make it just work on each device without Syncthing.
- All the work - Need to setup all these do need some IT knowledge.
- No GUI like OneDrive/Google Drive/Dropbox - You can still kind of map the R2 drive to your desktop, but it’s just not as plug and go.
Conclusion
I’m sticking to this Syncthing + R2 setting because it’s highly personal. Fast local sync. Use internet only when needed. Feels like on demand for everything. I liked it.
And I also hate capitalism and big tech selling and training our data as if privacy is not a thing no more.
It’s been fun.