Quick start
Four steps take you from a new account to a mailbox being backed up. None of them takes more than a minute, and the first backup then starts on its own.
What you need
Everything happens in the browser. There is nothing to install on your computer or on the mail server.
- The address of the mailbox to back up, and a password that can read it. With most providers, this is an application password, not the account password.
- IMAP turned on for that mailbox. Most hosts turn it on by default.
- A payment method. Backups start once it is registered. You can ask for a refund of your first invoice within 14 days.
1. Open the account
The sign-up form asks for a sign-in address, a password of at least twelve characters, and your billing details. We ask for the billing details at this stage because they set the VAT regime, and Stripe uses them to pre-fill the card form.
You then receive a confirmation link by email. It works once and expires after twenty-four hours. You cannot do anything else until you have clicked it: we need an address that works to warn you if a backup stops.
2. Billing details and card
Once you are signed in, the Getting started banner shows what is left to do: confirm your address, complete the billing details, register a payment method, declare a first mailbox.
You register the card in the Stripe portal. We never see the card number and we do not store it.
3. Declare a mailbox
Open Management, then New backup, and choose a mailbox. Enter the address and the application password. If the mailbox is not hosted at Infomaniak, also enter the IMAP server and its port.
If you leave these empty, istorel uses mail.infomaniak.com on port 993. The IMAP settings article lists the values for the usual providers.
The password is encrypted when you save it and is never shown again. To change it, you enter a new one.
4. Watch the first run
You have nothing else to do. The scheduler picks up the mailbox within a minute and the first run starts. You can follow it in Recent runs, on the mailbox page.
After that, the mailbox is backed up on its schedule, every four hours by default. The next article explains what happens during the first run and how long it takes.