<P> A USB flash drive , also variously known as a thumb drive , pen drive , gig stick , jump drive , disk key , disk on key , flash - drive , memory stick or USB memory , is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface . It is typically removable , rewritable and much smaller than an optical disc . Most weigh less than 30 g ( 1 ounce ) . Since first appearing on the market in late 2000 , as with virtually all other computer memory devices , storage capacities have risen while prices have dropped . As of March 2016 , flash drives with anywhere from 8 to 256 GB are frequently sold ; less frequent are 512 GB and 1 TB units . Storage capacities as large as 2 TB are planned , with steady improvements in size and price per capacity expected . Some allow up to 100,000 write / erase cycles , depending on the exact type of memory chip used , and are thought to last between 10 and 100 years under normal circumstances ( shelf storage time ) . </P>
how many writes does a flash drive have
up to 100,000