Google One: Google’s storage + AI bundle — shared family storage across Photos, Drive, and Gmail, with Gemini features on higher tiers. (Everywhere (web + Android + iOS) · Google One ~$1.99–$9.99/mo by storage, family-shareable)
Cornerstone: A private operating system for the home: a family AI you can actually ask things, an encrypted vault for photos and documents that only you can open, age-graded kid access with parent oversight, a device mesh, and encrypted cold backup — all under one rule, honest custody: the server holds only ciphertext and refuses to receive your key.
✓ Excellent value and the best-in-class Photos search + AI
✓ Works everywhere, effortlessly, with huge storage for the price
✓ Family sharing and a mature ecosystem
✓ Gemini AI features baked into higher tiers
Where Cornerstone differs
→ Not end-to-end encrypted — Google can read your content, and the business model is built around your data. Cornerstone stores only ciphertext and refuses to receive your key
→ The AI runs on Google’s servers over your data; Cornerstone’s family AI is designed to keep private data private
→ No age-graded household oversight model
→ No self-host horizon
Pick Google One if…
• You want the cheapest big storage with the best photo AI
• You’re comfortable with Google’s access to your data in exchange
• Cross-device convenience matters most
Pick Cornerstone if…
• You want "you own it" to be literally true — we hold ciphertext, not your key
• You don’t want your family’s private life to be the product
• You want a household model with kid oversight and a path to self-hosting
Where we’re honestly behind
– Cornerstone is NEW — Proton and Apple are mature, audited, and battle-tested. If you want proven-today encryption from an established vendor, pick them, honestly
– Parts of the vision — the full device mesh, managed cold backup, self-host — are early or still being built
– No decade-deep photo library or app ecosystem yet; the depth of iteration isn’t there
– Own-family-first: this is being built for real use before it’s a polished mass-market product