I was recently chatting to a friend ahead of a six-week overseas trip and the topic came up of document access. Given practically every travel document and all bookings, etc. are stored on my iPhone now, I got to wondering about how I would deal with a lost phone. (I won’t be carrying any other computer or tablet.) Yes, most of my stuff is accessible in either iCloud or Dropbox, but there are certain documents that I store only in Devonthink/Devonthink for iOS (my database is synced via Dropbox).
I’m pretty sure there is no way of accessing a Dropbox-housed database via a web browser (correct me if I’m wrong), so what other way could I access my Devonthink data in this scenario? I don’t believe there is a Devonthink app for Android, so I assume I would need to find another iPhone or Mac in order to install the app then login to my database?
The most robust way to prepare for a lost phone scenario is to have physical (paper) copies of critical documents: tickets, reservation information, first page of your passport, etc.
Second best is web access through an ordinary browser with no special software. So export the critical documents out of DT to a folder in your Dropbox (or other) account.
DT, plus paper copies of critical info, plus shared (with spouse) Apple Notes of critical info, plus (shared with spouse) 1Password copies of some critical info. Yeah, keeping several copies involves some work, but it ain’t that many documents (and reservations), and you will be very glad if something happens. Ah, iPhone backed up to the cloud, of course.
I use Lambus for that as well as for travel planning. They have an app and a browser interface, which allows me to get at tickets etc from everywhere. Same with 1Password for more sensitive data. And since Lambus is located in the EU, I can at least hope that they don’t sell my data all over the place.
That’s not a bad idea. I’m thinking of creating a separate Travel database, copying the relevant files into that and then doing as you suggest with that (export to Dropbox). I already have umpteen backups of my databases at home and in the cloud (Backblaze)
Thanks for that. I like the look of Lambus. I do use Tripit, but it’s a bit limited. Lambus looks to have more free features and the pro version is better value.
Don’t be so sure you can access iCloud if you lose your iPhone while traveling. When this happened to me while traveling in Italy, I attempted to log onto iCloud from an unrecognized computer. Apple insisted on 2 factor authentication, sending a verification code to a trusted device or number. I didn’t have my iphone or Mac with me, so I was unable to receive the code. It was a catch-22. The only reason for me to use iCloud is if I don’t have my phone or computer, but I needed one of these to log on.
When I got back to the U.S. my solution for a possible future scenerio was to get a Googe Voice number and make that a trusted number on iCloud. That way if I don’t have my Mac or phone, when logging into iCloud, I can also log into Google Voice and retrieve the verification code texted to the Gooble Voice number.
A hardware key (think Yubi and similar offerings) is an alternative – doesn’t need a phone number and works with other accounts, too (eg GitHub). If you register it before going abroad, that is.
