Hosting sites

[olderdan]

Can someone enlighten me on the benefits of hosting sites as so far I just don't get it.
I am aware that they are widely used so I am obviously missing the point.
I place all my photos on a usb hard drive caddy and copy them in when needed which unburdens my laptop and gives me a backup, I leave them full size and FastStone batch them for posting, a pen drive would do the same.
It was reported some years ago that all Photobucket operatives can access personal data which has left me a little wary, (or is it me just getting old and suspicious of a free anything).
Posting videos are a different area but so far I have not gone there.