Is it possible to connect to Sync.com ? Potential eager new user!

KyryloKaralyus · 2020-08-24T09:57:57.474Z

Hi all, posting this in support since I’m not sure if it’s possible yet (if it’s not, I’ll move it to “features” ?);
Joplin seems to be a top-of-the-world-type-of-amazing notetaking app, but while it’s not limited to hosting cloud, only options I see are self-hosted on a server (is that what webdav supposed to help with?) and providers that have really bad privacy policies. I’d like to have my notes synced on a privacy-oriented service like sync.com but I can find no guides and the research is confusing.

I have not even started using joplin besides testing features, so version is irrelevant; OS-wise, I’m using both windows10 and debian10

Rootman · 2020-08-24T10:46:55.961Z

I’m not familiar with Sync.com, it does look interesting with end to end encryption built right in.

Does Sync.com use a local Sync folder? If so you can do a FILE SYSTEM Sync and place that sync folder within the Sync.com’s sync folder. Then point all your clients to the copy of the Joplin sync. If it’s like other sync tools it usually does not offer to actually sync files on mobile devices, it just allows access. So that would be a short coming.

CalebJohn · 2020-08-24T15:37:45.195Z

To add to this, it looks like sync.com doesn’t support third party tools such as Joplin. So you’re only option is likely the file system.

https://www.sync.com/help/general-limits-when-using-sync/#gnas
To help understand this, WebDAV is the protocol Joplin uses to connect with different sync providers.

Rootman · 2020-08-24T16:12:28.489Z

Thanks CalebJohn, I just did a cursory glance at the product. It seems to be a more and more common thing to NOT provide WebDav any more. I’m waiting for MS to pull it from OneDrive some day.

I used a file system sync and it worked OK, it’s just got a few gotchas. More than once I was in a hurry, made a change to a note, synced it in Joplin then shut down - before the cloud provider (in my original case Google Drive) did a sync to the cloud. I also had to buy an app to sync the actual FILES to my android phone, not just just provide access. I now use OneDrive to sync directly which seems a bit tidier.

It seems that file system sync has a tendency to hose up but quick, especially if using more than one device at a time and the sync goes haywire.

After I’ve added or edited a few notes I’ve started shutting down the cloud sync agent and doing a full 7Z (ZIP file alternative) backup of the Joplin profile. I’ve always used the Joplin portable version just because of this.
More than once I’ve had to restore from this 7z file to get the notes straight again.

KyryloKaralyus · 2020-08-24T20:36:10.059Z

Thank you all for responding quickly and keeping this product community active !
All of this seems like a much less seamless experience and is pretty frustrating (double checking if it’s synced ? cmon, I’m pulling out my notes hounded times a day from different devices), I think I’ll have to stick to simplenote (been using it for years now), it’s rapid syncing and smooth interface beats not having folders (it still got tags though) and “questionable security” (see the reviews on alternativeTo website). Seems like only worthy case for switching is after getting a server and self-hosted nextcloud (but then it might be more comfortable to just use it’s filesystem instead of note engine).

CalebJohn · 2020-08-24T22:33:13.803Z

Fair enough, you might want to consider using a different provider (dropbox, onedrive, etc.) with E2EE enabled, this way you get get privacy and a more seamless syncing experience.

For the record though, I've been using sync with dropbox (E2EE enabled) through the filesystem for almost 2 years (because it's faster than using the api connection) and I have only had a couple sync issues and none in the last year. This is probably because I do wait to see dropbox has finished syncing, which usually only takes about 2 seconds since I sync regularly.

No matter which tool you use, manual backups are always a good idea so thats also some complexity you might want to consider adding

CalebJohn · 2020-08-24T22:38:03.752Z

File system sync definitely does have a bit more complexity (especially if you use a lot of devices that are on different OSs), but for simpe use cases like mine it’s really great.

It is weird that you seem to have so many unrecoverable issues? Is it possible that your system clocks are out of sync? if you are rapidly switching devices this could be an issue.
There has also been issues with certain hard drive formats (some keep timestamps differently).

KyryloKaralyus · 2020-08-25T10:41:56.860Z

Doesn’t E2EE protect data while it’s “in transitt” but not on the disc itself ? cuz those providers literally scan your data for marketing when it’s already on their disc

dpoulton · 2020-08-25T15:17:58.928Z

KyryloKaralyus:

Doesn’t E2EE protect data while it’s “in transitt” but not on the disc itself ?

No. Data in transit is protectedby https AND E2EE. Data on the sync target is protected by E2EE. That's the whole purpose of it; to stop anyone being able to snoop data at the storage provider's end.

Is Sync encrypted? Support

@mkhalila welcome to the forum It all depends on how you have set up sync and Joplin. Simple Summary Sync to cloud storage using http (if your provider’s or your self hosted server only uses http over the Internet you should not use it) Plain text notes are sent unencrypted over the Internet and stored unencrypted on the cloud server. Someone capturing your network traffic could record the packets containing your note data being sent / received in plain text. Technically your cloud storage p…