A decade ago, USB flash drives were an invaluable part of my everyday carry. I used them for file storage, file transfers, and everything in between. Now, they’re simply not as useful for common daily tasks. Small file transfers can be handled on-device or with cloud storage services, and larger ones are better suited for external SSDs and other storage devices. Plummeting flash storage costs have made microSD cards and SSDs much more attractive than USB drives for the average user.
Still, that doesn’t mean it’s time to send your old USB drives to the landfill. I’ve made the mistake of tossing a USB drive too early, only to wish I had kept it for an unforeseen workflow later. Determined not to make the same mistake twice, I’m keeping my old USB drives for a few critical situations that still pop up from time to time.
I don’t want to email my files to a public printer or use the cloud
Everyone already knows that USB drives are handy for storing and moving files — that’s old news. In 2026, though, cloud storage services and transfer tools are a much easier way to move files and media between devices. Quick Share and AirDrop are well-known, and some even use communication platforms like Slack or Discord to move their digital documents around. So why keep a USB drive around if better options exist?
Privacy, simplicity, and reliability are the three reasons I’ll always keep a USB drive for moving files and media in certain situations. I don’t own a printer anymore, and I’d rather use a physical flash drive for printing at office stores, libraries, or public printers. That way, I’m not sharing unnecessary information by emailing a file to a printing service or using a cloud storage provider. I also use USB drives to move ripped songs from CDs to my storage servers, and play them back on my mobile devices.
Even today, it’s not uncommon to need to load up a presentation on a work computer or print something on a shared printer, and USB devices are still incredibly useful for those tasks.
Portable apps help me live like a digital nomad
Keep your basic apps ready to run on any machine you encounter
Portable apps are hands-down the coolest way to use a USB drive. They’re small, self-contained applications that live on your USB drive and remain usable as you move between different computers. After picking the portable apps you need and installing them on a flash drive, they become launchable from a simplistic interface. There are portable apps for popular web browsers, photo editors, and media players — including GIMP and Google Chrome.
When set up to run portable apps, USB drives become helpful for the same reasons we’ve already reviewed. You’re likely not always working at your personal desktop or laptop computer. There might be times when you need to run apps on a public computer, work computer, or family PC that aren’t configured for your workflow. In my case, I can use my preferred photo editor, browser, and media player on the desktop computer at my family home when I travel for the holidays.
I moved my workflow to portable apps and it’s surprisingly liberating
Portable apps are a great way to keep your workflow consistent across devices.
Bootable USB drives are still a lifesaver
Especially if you have a Windows laptop
Finally, if you have a USB drive lying around somewhere and don’t find the above use cases appealing, you can create a bootable installer to keep in case of an emergency. You really can’t go wrong with making a USB installer, because if nothing else, it will come in handy when you decide to trade in, recycle, or give away your computer. A bootable USB drive allows users to erase their PC and reinstall a fresh copy of their operating system without needing to wait for the installer to download from a server.
If you have a Windows laptop, especially a novelty one, there’s even more reason to create a bootable USB installer. I own a Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, and the dual-display form factor and its necessary drivers make reinstalling Windows the usual way impossible. Instead, it’s recommended to create a custom bootable installer from Lenovo with all the drivers and software needed for my individual laptop. That’s what I did — and if you have a Windows laptop that needs custom drivers, you should do the same. It’s a great way to put old USB drives to work once they’re past their prime, and we have a guide to making bootable installers.
Why it’s worth keeping those old drives around
Physical media is generally more redundant than cloud servers. USB drives aren’t the most reliable physical storage solution out there — SSDs, high-endurance microSD cards, and NAS systems are better options for backups and demanding workflows. However, USB drives still keep your files local, meaning you won’t be let down by a slow Wi-Fi connection or a cloud server outage. That’s a level of value that will never get old, which is why I’ll always keep my old USB drives moving forward.
