BackupElf is a brand new service which lets you back up files using nothing more exotic than your email service. Just attach the files you need to store to an email addressed to [email protected] and the service will automatically archive the files for you in your account.

It’s a neat idea, in the same vein as the most excellent Posterous blogging by email service, but it’s obviously designed only for small files and limited volume. This is because most email systems really aren’t happy with large attachments, and some email services have ridiculously small storage capacity settings.

Where I can see it really taking off is with mobile files, like photos and videos, where you can shoot off an email to [email protected] with a photo attached and immediately have it stored safely. Of course services like Dropbox (aff) now have similarly easy functionality using mobile apps, but still it’s a neat idea.

 When you send an email to [email protected], we backup and encrypt everything in the email to Amazon Web Services including the subject, body, and all attachments. You can then log into the BackupElf.com website and quickly find your email backups. We even categorize and make them searchable too!