Partly because of such long retention times, as well as growing uploading and downloading speeds, Usenet is also used by individuals to store backup data in a practice called "Usenet backup", or uBackup. While commercial providers offer easier-to-use online backup services, storing data on Usenet is free of charge (although access to Usenet itself may not be). A user must manually select, prepare and upload the data. Because anyone can download the backup files, the data is typically encrypted. After the files are uploaded, the uploader has no control over them; they are automatically distributed to all Usenet providers that subscribe to the newsgroup they are uploaded to, so there will be copies of them spread all around the world.