Do you keep some documents on the cloud?

[isawtman]

I was wondering if any Camino hikers keep documents on the internet
on a cloud drive like Google Drive, etc? Documents could include your passport,
driver's license, medical history, insurance card, etc. I know there are risks
involved with putting stuff on the cloud. I would have them on a site
that only I know about. If I lose my passport, it may come in handy to have it on the web.

Perhaps you keep photos of the documents on your phone. But then
you would need to have them locked on your phone so if you lose
your phone people can't see them

The other idea would be to have my sister keep all of those files and
if I have a problem, she could email a document to me.

At any rate, I would like to find out how other people have handled this.
What documents did you do this with and how did you do it?

 

[jsalt]

Hi, I email my documents to myself, so I can go into my email at any time to get them if I need them.

 

[linkster]

I scan everything to PDF and then store the files on Google Drive and email.

 

[mspath]

When I first walked in 2004 I carried the originals plus xerox copies of the documents which hid in my "office" envelope within the backpack. Another set of xerox copies stayed at home.
On later caminos I carried the necessary originals plus emailed copies to myself as jsalt did in post # 2.

 

[isawtman]

What documents do you scan, email, etc?

 

[Turga]

What documents do you scan, email, etc?

The ones you think you'll need.

 

[jsalt]

What documents do you scan, email, etc?

Both passports (South African and British), Identity Document (South African), all Flight Tickets, Medical Aid Insurance Certificate (showing medical coverage for 2 months whilst overseas), Proof of Residence (e.g. rates and taxes bill), a password protected copy of all my Contacts with telephone numbers, log-in names and passwords (so able to access bank accounts, websites, etc), and also now my Digital Covid Vaccination Certificate.

 

[La Brique Jaune]

Hi to all,

What documents do you scan, email, etc?

I ask myself: If I lost all my stuff on the Camino and I'm in the middle of nowhere and I have problems.
I break down (don't know if is the right word) all my equipment, my needs, my situation and scan/email the related documents.

So I scan the prescription of my glasses, the front/back of my credits cards,debit card, driver license and health insurance card. I scan the numbers to call (and the process to not having charges) if my credit card are lost to cancel them. I will add all document related to your medical situation if you have one. I also bring the number of persons to call is somethings happens ( I know is dark) and the number of the embassy ( don't know if really useful but I did that).

And I separated those documents in two categories the ones needed right away from the others. From the first category I print them and cover them with transparent tape and keep them always with me. All my documents was in email and cloud. Personality I'm kind of old school so I will not rely on one technical method only. About the internet security, I'm really not expert but I created me a new email address with a very long password like "imonth3camin%thesantiag%_2023" for the documents.

​

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I also use the Emergency screen on my phone to provide information for someone else about me for use if I am injured and can't speak for myself.

I list my identity, my medications, how to contact my GP doctor (for medical history), my allergies to medications, that I have a metal screw in my leg (in case they want to do an MRI), my vaccine status and two family contacts so that someone who cares about me can be informed.

In doing this I have considered the possibility that I might misplace my phone or that it may be stolen and so I don't record any financial information but given that I am yet to misplace my phone or have it stolen (it is not an expensive phone) I considered the risk of disclosing my information to unauthorised persons was worth the value of emergency medical personnel knowing something of my relevant medical history.

This article from 2019 explains how to set this up https://au.pcmag.com/productivity/36220/how-to-add-emergency-info-to-your-phones-lock-screen

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I also use the Emergency screen on my phone to provide information for someone else about me for use if I am injured and can't speak for myself.

And a low tech way is to write your information down on paper and put it between your phone and its case. You may even want to put in your picture.

 

[Saint Mike II]

I try to limit keeping such personal stuff on "the cloud", but I do store some essential data on a gmail/email when travelling. Thanks for reminder.

 

[cbacino]

I was wondering if any Camino hikers keep documents on the internet
on a cloud drive like Google Drive, etc? Documents could include your passport,
driver's license, medical history, insurance card, etc. I know there are risks
involved with putting stuff on the cloud. I would have them on a site
that only I know about. If I lose my passport, it may come in handy to have it on the web.

Perhaps you keep photos of the documents on your phone. But then
you would need to have them locked on your phone so if you lose
your phone people can't see them

The other idea would be to have my sister keep all of those files and
if I have a problem, she could email a document to me.

At any rate, I would like to find out how other people have handled this.
What documents did you do this with and how did you do it?

Think of what you would have to replace if lost or stolen: passports, vaccination card, driver’s license. Also a birth certificate and extra visa/passport photos could come in handy. Upload those docs to the cloud, such as Google Docs or as attachments to an email to yourself or as a draft doc. Passwords, NO.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Also store your driver's license and, if you have one, international driver's license.

 

[linkster]

I store my PDFs on my iPhone in iBooks, Google Drive, and my email.

I do change my lockscreen (see below) ... there were a few comments about it being really bright, but it really isn't on my iPhone. You can develop your own color scheme.

You may also consider having a copy of some medical information. I created the following and have them on my parents fridge just in case they are needed (FILE OF LIFE - Word document in link below).

Here is a link to a Google Drive folder that contains some first aid files that I keep on my iPhone. FYI, you can get the packaging for most over the counter drugs at https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/. I have a copy for everything that I keep in my first aid kit.

 

[chinacat]

I now have essential information on my lock screen.

When I walked, I photocopied my essential documents and kept them entirely separate from my real ones.
I wrote down all relevant telephone numbers and document identification numbers in a tiny notebook, which also contained my favourite meditations and a few poems/pieces of prose/aphorisms etc.

I carried an ‘unsmart’ mobile phone; the only time I went online was to book train tickets. I gratefully used a hotel’s computer to do this in SdC.

 

[Barbara]

Everything I have is already in my Dropbox, which gets a regular password change.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Hi to all,

I ask myself: If I lost all my stuff on the Camino and I'm in the middle of nowhere and I have problems.
I break down (don't know if is the right word) all my equipment, my needs, my situation and scan/email the related documents.

So I scan the prescription of my glasses, the front/back of my credits cards,debit card, driver license and health insurance card. I scan the numbers to call (and the process to not having charges) if my credit card are lost to cancel them. I will add all document related to your medical situation if you have one. I also bring the number of persons to call is somethings happens ( I know is dark) and the number of the embassy ( don't know if really useful but I did that).

And I separated those documents in two categories the ones needed right away from the others. From the first category I print them and cover them with transparent tape and keep them always with me. All my documents was in email and cloud. Personality I'm kind of old school so I will not rely on one technical method only. About the internet security, I'm really not expert but I created me a new email address with a very long password like "imonth3camin%thesantiag%_2023" for the documents.

​

That's a prety safe password! That's 26 and 30 zeros.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

View attachment 114532

That's a prety safe password! That's 26 and 30 zeros.

But then again it might only take a few milliseconds if you're unlucky.

 

[henrythedog]

I store my PDFs on my iPhone in iBooks, Google Drive, and my email.

I do change my lockscreen (see below) ... there were a few comments about it being really bright, but it really isn't on my iPhone. You can develop your own color scheme.

You may also consider having a copy of some medical information. I created the following and have them on my parents fridge just in case they are needed (FILE OF LIFE - Word document in link below).

Here is a link to a Google Drive folder that contains some first aid files that I keep on my iPhone. FYI, you can get the packaging for most over the counter drugs at https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/. I have a copy for everything that I keep in my first aid kit.

View attachment 114503View attachment 114504View attachment 114506View attachment 114505

Your Lock Screen idea is really good. I do something similar - a full face photograph of myself (not Henry the actual dog as when I’m at home) and a contact number. I hope that the photo might help someone recognise me if I were to misplace the phone.

 

[David Tallan]

I was wondering if any Camino hikers keep documents on the internet
on a cloud drive like Google Drive, etc? Documents could include your passport,
driver's license, medical history, insurance card, etc. I know there are risks
involved with putting stuff on the cloud. I would have them on a site
that only I know about. If I lose my passport, it may come in handy to have it on the web.

Perhaps you keep photos of the documents on your phone. But then
you would need to have them locked on your phone so if you lose
your phone people can't see them

The other idea would be to have my sister keep all of those files and
if I have a problem, she could email a document to me.

At any rate, I would like to find out how other people have handled this.
What documents did you do this with and how did you do it?

I didn't on my first Camino. There wasn't much of a cloud in 1989 (except in Galicia, which always gets the rain). I carried photocopies of my passport and other key documents in a separate bag, the idea being if my passport/ID was stolen, I could use them to apply for replacements. What ended up happening (in Madrid, not on the Camino) was that the bag with the photocopies was stolen and someone else applied for a replacement passport in my name. They caught it and stopped it before he got the passport, but for decades it took me much longer to replace my expiring passports than it took for everyone else I knew.

More recently, I have been keeping documents on the cloud (Google Drive). I don't see that much difference between keeping them there or in Gmail. In either case, Google has the same access to them. The advantage of keeping them there is that I have the same access to them if my phone is stolen or lost. And I don't have to worry about them being stolen like they were in 1989.

The thing to watch out for is if you protect your accounts with two-factor authentication, which is often recommended for improved security. That's when, in addition to the usual name/password, you get sent a text message with a code or some such when you try and sign in (or when you try and sign in from a new device) that you have to enter to show that it is really you. This is great if some hacker finds your user name/password. They won't be able to log in as you because they won't get the text and you are protected. It makes it difficult, however, if your phone is lost or stolen and you are trying to log into your account from a friend's phone or the computer at the hostel. Then you are locked out of your accounts because you aren't receiving the texts. Some services (like Google) will have an option where you can print a series of "one-time" codes that can be used instead of the codes that they text you for the second authentication factor. If you keep those somewhere safe, you can use them to access you accounts on another device if your phone is lost or stolen.

The kinds of documents I store on the cloud are: passport, birth certificate, insurance, plane or train tickets, drivers license, credit cards, prescriptions.

 

[Ronald Boivin]

I was wondering if any Camino hikers keep documents on the internet
on a cloud drive like Google Drive, etc? Documents could include your passport,
driver's license, medical history, insurance card, etc. I know there are risks
involved with putting stuff on the cloud. I would have them on a site
that only I know about. If I lose my passport, it may come in handy to have it on the web.

Perhaps you keep photos of the documents on your phone. But then
you would need to have them locked on your phone so if you lose
your phone people can't see them

The other idea would be to have my sister keep all of those files and
if I have a problem, she could email a document to me.

At any rate, I would like to find out how other people have handled this.
What documents did you do this with and how did you do it?

I keep a copy of everything Camino-related on the iCloud in case I lose or damage my technology or documents, anything can easily be restored from the iCloud.

 

[Marbe2]

Iphone, mini Ipad and miniature paper notebook!

We bring an iphone and an iPad which are linked.
Documents are placed in photos. Photos can, of course, be accessed without internet.
I keep emergency numbers in my photo sections, for travel insurance, bank, credit cards, airlines, any transport I might need,PPs, driver’ s license, US Embassy, various clinics along the Way, as well as recommended hospitals in Madrid. When I need them, I want immediate access to them.

In addition, I keep a very small note book, maybe 2”-4” in size with 20 pages…it contains all of the numbers of our reservations, and all the numbers listed for our I electronics listed above. This tiny book remains secured in a small inner zippered chest pocket in a very light LLbean jacket, which I wear daily. I thankfully have rarely had to refer to it.

We do not put any financial info photos or on internet. All credit card and bank cards are memorized. I try to anticipate and gestimate charges for transactions in advance and set up at payment schedule before we fly to Spain.

 

[isawtman]

Iphone, mini Ipad and miniature paper notebook!

We bring an iphone and an iPad which are linked.
Documents are placed in photos. Photos can, of course, be accessed without internet.
I keep emergency numbers in my photo sections, for travel insurance, bank, credit cards, airlines, any transport I might need,PPs, driver’ s license, US Embassy, various clinics along the Way, as well as recommended hospitals in Madrid. When I need them, I want immediate access to them.

In addition, I keep a very small note book, maybe 2”-4” in size with 20 pages…it contains all of the numbers of our reservations, and all the numbers listed for our I electronics listed above. This tiny book remains secured in a small inner zippered chest pocket in a very light LLbean jacket, which I wear daily. I thankfully have rarely had to refer to it.

We do not put any financial info photos or on internet. All credit card and bank cards are memorized. I try to anticipate and gestimate charges for transactions in advance and set up at payment schedule before we fly to Spain.

Thank you, sounds like a good way of doing it

 

[David with new Kit!]

Lots of good advice above, here is what I did (quite a mix!)

I mostly stored all my docs in google drive and it worked well.

By all means email docs to yourself (I did that too) but if its webmail it still relies on the internet to retrieve the data, same as Google drive.

Wifi is found almost everywhere (on the CF), but don't access credit card details on an unsecured wifi network

I suggest to never scan credit card details, always keep the codes, numbers etc behind a password manager, that way you only have one password to remember.

The other alternative I can think about is to download a copy of the docs straight onto your phone, password secured of of course, that way you have a copy in the cloud, web mail and on your phone.

As mentioned above, photos of docs can get them straight onto your phone too.