# Backblaze Backup Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/backblaze/ 34 people recommended Backblaze Backup in Hacker News comments, 20 had mixed feelings and 117 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 24 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended: critics say it silently stopped backing up some files; those who recommend it cite cheap, set-and-forget off-site backup with long history. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Changes made without notice or warning (5 comments in the sample): "They 100% should have communicated this change, absolutely unacceptable to change behavior without an extremely visible warning." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47768261)) "they clearly should have communicated the change and made it visible in the exclusion settings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47768351)) "Complete lack of communication (outside of release notes, which nobody really reads, as the article too states) is incompetence and indeed worrying." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47763196)) - Excludes some files without clear notice (3 comments in the sample): "If they start excluding random content (eg: .git) without effective notice, maybe they AREN'T backing up everything you think they are." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47763456)) "They don’t backup Dropbox directories or other cloud sync products. It wasn’t broadly communicated just a line item in release notes." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47688232)) "the one time I needed to restore a file, I realized that VMware VMs files were excluded from the backup" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47764092)) - Restore and upload problems (2 comments in the sample): "There are a few folks who lost data to corrupted files on the BackBlaze side." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47778161)) "I spent more than a week trying to restore a little less than 2 TB backup because the client would just freeze at the last…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47770992)) - Deletes backups from unplugged drives (2 comments in the sample): "Easily over 10 year customer. Totally bogus. Not only did it stop backing it up the old history is totally gone as well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47763287)) "backblaze just deletes backed up data from external hard drives that haven't been connected in a while" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47765293)) ## Why people recommend it - Off-site copy and cold storage (3 comments in the sample): "Encrypt the hell out of it and make sure there's a globally redundant copy of your files." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47844326)) "make a great off site backup solution because, like the OP said, this is important stuff" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47579690)) "use backblaze as cold storage and use restic or another tool with a GUI to backup to it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47766936)) - Keeps deleted files for 30 days (3 comments in the sample): "Backblaze doesn’t erase after 30 days… I’ve had a computer be offline from it for several months and it still retained all data." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46252845)) "they have features like default soft delete with hard delete after x days that makes it a very compelling backup choice" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47675401)) "A big difference here is that Backblaze only keeps deleted/changed files for 30 days." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47771299)) - Hands-off backup that needs no thought (2 comments in the sample): "stick it on all my computer-illiterate relatives' PCs and then I know there is a fool-proof backup" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47781564)) "I'm happy to pay an annual fee for a one-size fits all approach that I don't have to think about." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47768192)) - Cheap, fair usage-based billing (2 comments in the sample): "it's very cheap and the billing is fair (usage based billing, not the exorbitant monthly fees most SaaS services charge" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46727403)) "I use backblaze software and it is fine. Works much better than others in the same pricepoint." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47019774)) ## What people recommend instead - [iCloud Backup](https://hackerapproved.com/p/icloud-backup/): 5 recommend, 2 mixed, 9 criticize ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.backblaze.com/) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Backblaze Backup", https://hackerapproved.com/p/backblaze/ (34 recommend, 20 mixed, 117 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.