These 7 file formats will outlive everything you're using to store them

These 7 file formats will outlive everything you're using to store them Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf By  Brady Snyder Published May 31, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT Brady is a technology journalist for MakeUseOf with years of experience covering all things mobile, computing, and general tech. He has a focus on Android phones and audio gear, and holds a B.S. in Journalism from St. John's University. Brady has written for publications like Android Central, Android Authority, XDA, Android Police, iMore, and others. He has experience reporting on major events held by Google, Apple, and Samsung, as well as trade shows like Lenovo Innovation World and IFA. When he's not writing about and testing the latest gadgets, you'll find Brady watching Big East basketball and running. Sign in to your MakeUseOf account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Technology comes and goes faster than we realize — there are products and services that were mainstays just a decade or two ago that are now extinct. The key to preserving digital media is through intelligent data archival, and that includes more than just the physical mediums used to store information. The file format used to archive information is equally important, and not every file type is great for longevity. There isn't a perfect method for predicting which formats will outlast the hardware storing them, but the most likely candidates provide unencrypted and uncompressed data, or are open-source rather than proprietary. In fact, notable archival bodies like the U.S. Library of Congress have put together lists of file formats best suited for preservation. We can also look at the past to predict the file formats that have a strong probability of surviving in the future. This list of enduring formats includes file types that not only meet the characteris