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A USB flash drive is a small, portable device that plugs into a computer to store and transfer files. It matters because it provides a convenient and reliable way to carry important documents, photos, or other data with you and share them between different computers.
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A SanDisk Cruzer USB drive from 2011, with 4 GB of storage capacity A SanDisk Ultra Flair USB drive from 2020, attached to an HP laptop Transcend JetFlash from 2014 SanDisk 1 TB USB-C flash drive (2020 model) next to a 50 cent euro coin
A USB flash drive (also known as a thumb drive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. A typical USB drive is removable, rewritable, and smaller than an optical disc, and usually weighs less than 30 g (1 oz). Since first offered for sale in late 2000, the storage capacities of USB drives have ranged from 8 megabytes to 1 terabyte (TB). As of 2024, 4 TB flash drives were the largest currently in production. Some allow up to 100,000 write/erase cycles, depending on the exact type of memory chip used, and are thought to physically last between 10 and 100 years under normal circumstances (shelf storage time).