> I don't know if it would be cheaper to pay for iCloud, but for whatever reason I feel safer having two HDDs with my media than trusting Apple's (or anyone els

> I don't know if it would be cheaper to pay for iCloud, but for whatever reason I feel safer having two HDDs with my media than trusting Apple's (or anyone else's) cloud. I'd suggest paying for iCloud just for the ability to automagically backup your iPhone(s). You can exclude Photos from being backed up if you prefer. I use iCloud Photo Library as well on a larger plan, but the backup feature alone is definitely well worth $0.99.