# Get started with Personal Cloud

> Set up Personal Cloud in Cloak Proxy: sign in with an emailed code, buy a plan, create your encryption key, save your Recovery Kit and choose what syncs.

Source: https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/get-started/

Added in Cloak Proxy 0.6.0.

Setting up Personal Cloud takes a few minutes on your first Mac. You sign in with a code sent to your email, buy a plan (monthly or yearly; there's no free trial, and refunds are 30 days, no questions), create the encryption key that protects your data, save a Recovery Kit, and choose what syncs. There's no password to remember.

Everything happens in **Settings › Cloud**. Open it with **Cloak Proxy › Settings…** (<kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>,</kbd>) and click **Cloud**.

{/* TODO(screenshot): cloud-settings-off-light (Settings › Cloud before sign-in). Markers: Get Personal Cloud…, What Subcloak Can See, "Don't suggest Personal Cloud elsewhere in the app". */}

## Before you start

Settings › Cloud shows what Personal Cloud is before you sign in. Each feature is greyed, with a gold star, until you buy:

| Row | What it means |
|---|---|
| **End-to-end encrypted** | Encrypted on your Mac with keys only your Macs have. Subcloak can't read it. |
| **Sync on up to 5 Macs** | Rules, mock sets, API workspaces, environments, scopes and filters. |
| **Share links** | Redacted on this Mac, expiring, with a view count and a Revoke button. |
| **5 GB, a Recovery Kit and change review** | Risky changes made on another Mac wait for you to approve them. |
| **Personal Cloud** | $3 a month or $25 a year. 30-day refund, no questions. While the founding offer runs, a line under it says: $20 for your first year, then $25 a year, for the first 50 yearly buyers. |

Nothing leaves this Mac until you sign in, and nothing syncs until you choose what to sync. The copy on this Mac is always the main copy.

**What Subcloak Can See** opens a table of what the server can and can't see. [Security and privacy](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/security/#what-subcloak-can-and-cant-see) has the same list.

Cloak Proxy suggests Personal Cloud in a few places, such as the Share Live Traffic sheet, and menu items that need it (such as **Share Link…**) are greyed with a gold star until you buy; choosing one shows what it does and the price. Suggestions show rarely and never as a pop-up. To hide them all, turn on **Don't suggest Personal Cloud elsewhere in the app**.

## Set up your first Mac

1. In **Settings › Cloud**, click **Get Personal Cloud…**. (Already have an account? The same button signs you in.)

2. In **Sign in to Personal Cloud**, type your **Email**. Disposable email addresses aren't accepted: it's how you sign in and get receipts. **This computer** is filled in with your Mac's name; change it if you like. Your other computers see this name when this Mac asks to join, and it's stored encrypted once the Mac is approved. Click **Continue**.

   {/* TODO(screenshot): cloud-sheet-email-light */}

3. **Check your email.** Subcloak sends a 6-digit code from `cloud@subcloak.com`. Type it in the sheet; Cloak Proxy checks it as soon as you've typed six digits. Or click **Confirm Sign-In** in the email and then **Confirm Sign-In** on the page that opens in your browser: the sheet moves on by itself.

   The code works for 10 minutes. If the email doesn't arrive, click **Send again** (it's available after a short wait), or **Use a different email**.

   {/* TODO(screenshot): cloud-sheet-code-light */}

4. If the address doesn't have an account yet, Cloak Proxy asks **Create your Personal Cloud account?** Read the [Terms](https://subcloak.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://subcloak.com/privacy), then click **Create Account**. An account that never buys anything is deleted by itself after 30 days.

5. **Buy Personal Cloud.** Choose **Yearly** or **Monthly** and click **Buy Yearly…** or **Buy Monthly…**. Checkout opens in your browser on Polar's page, and the sheet moves on by itself once the payment goes through. Bought it already, on another Mac? Click **I've Already Bought It**. See [Plans and billing](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/plans-and-billing/#buy-personal-cloud).

   {/* TODO(screenshot): cloud-sheet-plan-light (or cloud-sheet-plan-founding-light while the founding offer runs) */}

6. **Your encryption key** (Step 1 of 3). Cloak Proxy explains that it encrypts everything on this Mac before upload, and that Subcloak never has your key. Click **Continue**. This Mac makes your account's keys and stores them in its Keychain.

7. **Save your Recovery Kit** (Step 2 of 3). The sheet shows your recovery key and a QR code of it. Save it at least one way:

   - **Save PDF…** saves `Personal Cloud Recovery Kit.pdf`, readable only by your macOS account.
   - **Print…** prints it straight from memory, with no copy on disk.
   - **Copy** copies the key. The clipboard is cleared after a minute, and clipboard managers and Universal Clipboard skip it.

   Then click **Continue**. See [Recovery Kit](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/recovery-kit/) for where to keep it.

   {/* TODO(screenshot): cloud-sheet-key-save-light. Note: the real sheet blanks itself in screen recordings; the gallery render is the only way to show it. */}

8. **Check it** (Step 3 of 3). Type the last two groups of your recovery key from the kit you saved, and click **Check**. This proves the kit was saved before you rely on it.

   You can click **Skip**. Settings › Cloud then shows **Recovery Kit not confirmed** until you check a kit.

9. **Choose what syncs.** Tick the types to sync and click **Start Syncing**. See [What syncs](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/what-syncs/) for what each one includes.

   {/* TODO(screenshot): cloud-sheet-choose-sync-light (or cloud-sheet-sync-sizes-light, with sizes) */}

Your first upload starts right away. To add another Mac, see [Add another Mac](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/add-a-mac/).

> **Keep the Recovery Kit safe:**
> Anyone who has your Recovery Kit and knows your account email can read your synced data: using the kit sends you no code. If you lose every computer and the kit, your Cloud data can't be recovered, by you or by Subcloak. The data on each Mac is never affected.

## Buy and set up on your first computer

Until your encryption key exists, the computer you signed in on first is the **setup computer**: only it can buy Personal Cloud, open billing and create the key. Another computer that signs in with the same email says **Buy and set up Personal Cloud on the computer you signed in on first.** This stops someone who can read your email from taking over setup.

Lost that computer before finishing? On another computer, click **Use This Computer Instead…** and confirm. We email you a link; opening it moves setup to that computer and signs your other computers out. If you've already bought Personal Cloud, the move waits 24 hours, and setting up your key on the first computer in that time cancels it.

## Finish setting up later

Every step has **Not Now** or **Cancel**. Setup remembers where you stopped: Settings › Cloud shows **Finish setting up Personal Cloud** with what's left, and **Continue…** picks up from there. Before you've bought a plan, Settings › Cloud shows the plans instead, with **Buy Monthly…**, **Buy Yearly…** and **I've Already Bought It**.

| It says | What's left |
|---|---|
| Buy Personal Cloud: monthly or yearly. | The plan step. |
| Create your encryption key and save your Recovery Kit. | Steps 1 to 3 above. |
| Approve this Mac from a computer that's already signed in, or use your Recovery Kit. | This Mac signed in to an account that already has computers. See [Add another Mac](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/add-a-mac/). |
| Restore this Mac from your account, or choose what syncs. | The last step. On a Mac joining an account that already has data, it's [Restore this Mac](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/add-a-mac/#restore-this-mac). |

## Settings › Cloud once it's on

{/* TODO(screenshot): cloud-settings-on-light, full height. Markers: Sync Now, Recovery Kit row, What syncs, Devices, Plan. */}

| Section | What's in it |
|---|---|
| **This Mac** | **Sync**: up to date, syncing, offline, paused or items that need a look, with **Sync Now**. **Last change uploaded**. **Push connection**: when connected, changes from your other computers arrive right away; otherwise they're checked every few minutes. **Storage used** against your plan's limit. **Recovery Kit**: saved and checked, not confirmed, or a new kit not saved yet. Warnings about your account's computers appear at the top. |
| **What syncs** | The same switches as setup, with the size and number of items of each type. See [What syncs](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/what-syncs/). |
| **Sync issues** | Shown when something needs you: conflicts, changes to review, warnings. **Review…** opens the list. See [Review changes from another Mac](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/review-changes/). |
| **Share links** | The links this Mac made, with views, expiry and **Revoke**. See [Share links](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/share-links/). |
| **Devices** | Every computer on your account: when it was added, when it was last seen and its approximate country. **Remove…** next to each other computer. See [Remove a lost or stolen Mac](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/remove-a-mac/). |
| **Devices** (Security code) | Under the list, your account's 12-digit **Security code**. Compare it on your Macs: if they agree, they see the same computers and keys. |
| **Plan** | Your plan and its renewal or end date, **Manage Billing…** and **Cancel Subscription…**. See [Plans and billing](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/plans-and-billing/). |
| **Account** | Your email, **What Subcloak Can See**, **Delete Account…** and **Sign Out of Personal Cloud…**. |

## Sign out of Personal Cloud on a Mac

Click **Sign Out of Personal Cloud…** in **Settings › Cloud › Account**, then **Sign Out**.

- **If you have other computers on the account:** this Mac stops syncing and is removed from your account. Its rules, mocks and API workspaces stay on it, unchanged. Your other computers keep their copies, and so does Cloud. The next computer that syncs changes the account key, so this Mac's old key opens nothing new.
- **If this is the only computer on the account:** it stops syncing and its keys are deleted, but your account and its data stay in Personal Cloud. To use them again, sign in and choose **Use Recovery Kit Instead…**. See [Recovery Kit](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/recovery-kit/#get-back-in-with-the-kit).

Signing out deletes this Mac's Cloud keys and its Cloud folder. It never touches your rules, mocks or workspaces.

## Related

  - [Add another Mac](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/add-a-mac/): Approve a new Mac by comparing codes.
  - [What syncs](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/what-syncs/): Every sync type and what stays on each Mac.
  - [Recovery Kit](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/recovery-kit/): Keep it safe, use it, make a new one.
  - [Plans and billing](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-proxy/cloud/plans-and-billing/): Buying, billing, cancelling and refunds.