Start with a backup you can restore.

1. Decide what matters

Start with a small folder of documents or photos. Keep the originals and a separate local backup. An off-site copy adds protection against loss of the device or location; it should not be your only copy.

Write down how much data you have, how often it changes and how far back you need to recover. A mirrored folder can copy mistakes as readily as good changes. Keep independent recovery points for accidental edits and deletions.

2. Plan your Arca

An Arca is the name we use for your storage space. ArcaCipher is being developed as privacy-focused UK storage. A 10GB free tier is planned as a way to try a small backup; availability, limits and final terms are not yet confirmed. It is not currently possible to claim it.

Leave room for encryption overhead, metadata and older backup versions. The size of your source folder alone will not always match the storage required.

3. Choose your tool

• Synology NAS: prepare a Hyper Backup task with client-side encryption.
• rclone: prepare an encrypted remote and practise a small upload and restore once access is available.
• rsync: collect files locally, then use a suitable encrypted upload tool. Direct rsync access to ArcaCipher is not available.

4. Keep encryption keys recoverable

Zero-knowledge storage is the design goal: file contents encrypted on your device, with decryption keys kept by you. For third-party tools, this depends on enabling their client-side encryption correctly. A raw S3 upload is not automatically zero-knowledge; HTTPS and server-side encryption do not replace client-side encryption.

Keep the encryption password, recovery key and tool configuration in a secure place separate from the backed-up device. Test that you can retrieve them. Do not assume ArcaCipher can recover lost encryption keys. Encryption does not necessarily hide file sizes, transfer times or account metadata.

5. Prove recovery, then schedule

1. Use a small, non-sensitive sample for the first trial when service access is available.
2. Restore into a new, empty folder. Open the recovered files and compare them with the originals.
3. Record the recovery steps and where you keep the keys.
4. Only then schedule backups. Check failures, available space and periodic restore tests.

Do not assume platform version history, undelete, object locking or automatic recovery is available. Those capabilities need separate implementation and confirmation.