Privacy Tools Guide

Regular backups protect against ransomware, hardware failure, and accidental deletion. Encrypted backups additionally protect your privacy: even if a backup is stolen, the data remains unreadable without the encryption key. This guide compares five encrypted backup solutions with different architectures, use cases, and pricing models.

Why Encrypted Backups Matter

Standard backups without encryption expose your data:

Encrypted backups ensure that even if someone accesses the backup, they can’t read the data without your encryption key.

Borg Backup: Deduplication-Focused

Borg is an open-source backup tool emphasizing efficiency through deduplication. Only stores changed data, dramatically reducing storage needs.

Installation

# macOS
brew install borgbackup

# Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt install borgbackup

# Or via pip (all platforms)
pip install borgbackup

Basic Setup: Local Backup

# Initialize backup repository
borg init --encryption=repokey ~/.backups/myrepo

# Create first backup
borg create ~/.backups/myrepo::backup-2026-03-20 \
  ~/Documents \
  ~/Pictures \
  --exclude '*.tmp' \
  --exclude '.git'

# List backups
borg list ~/.backups/myrepo

# Restore a file
borg extract ~/.backups/myrepo::backup-2026-03-20 Documents/important.txt

Remote Backup to SSH Server

Backup to a remote server via SSH:

# Initialize remote repository
borg init --encryption=repokey ssh://user@backupserver:~/borg-repo

# Backup to remote
borg create ssh://user@backupserver:~/borg-repo::backup-2026-03-20 ~/Documents

# Restore from remote
borg extract ssh://user@backupserver:~/borg-repo::backup-2026-03-20

Deduplication Example

Borg’s efficiency through deduplication:

Backup 1: 100GB (initial backup)
- Documents: 50GB
- Photos: 50GB

Backup 2: 102GB total, but only 5GB new data
- Same documents and photos as Backup 1
- 2GB of new photos, 3GB of modified documents
- Borg stores: only the 5GB of changes
- Physical storage: ~105GB total, not 202GB

Backup 3: 103GB total, but only 2GB new data
- 1GB new photos, 1GB modified files
- Physical storage: ~107GB total

After 10 backups of the same data with incremental changes, you’ve stored 120GB of data in ~150GB of storage instead of 1.2TB.

Automation: Cron Job

#!/bin/bash
# Daily backup script

export BORG_PASSPHRASE="your-encryption-passphrase"

borg create \
  --progress \
  --stats \
  ssh://user@server:~/borg-repo::backup-$(date +%Y-%m-%d) \
  ~/Documents \
  ~/Pictures \
  ~/Code \
  --exclude '*.tmp' \
  --exclude '.cache'

# Prune old backups (keep last 30 daily, 12 monthly, 2 yearly)
borg prune ssh://user@server:~/borg-repo \
  --keep-daily=30 \
  --keep-monthly=12 \
  --keep-yearly=2

# Check backup integrity
borg check ssh://user@server:~/borg-repo

Add to crontab:

# Daily backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /home/user/backup-script.sh

Strengths

Limitations

Pricing

Free and open-source. Storage costs depend on destination (SSH server, self-hosted NAS, etc).

Restic: Simplicity and Flexibility

Restic prioritizes ease of use while supporting multiple backends (local, SSH, S3, B2, Google Drive, etc).

Installation

# macOS
brew install restic

# Linux
sudo apt install restic

# Or download binary from restic.net

Basic Backup

# Initialize repository
restic init --repo /mnt/backups

# Create backup
restic -r /mnt/backups backup ~/Documents ~/Pictures

# List backups
restic -r /mnt/backups snapshots

# Restore files
restic -r /mnt/backups restore latest --target ~/restore-location

Cloud Storage Integration

Restic works with S3 (AWS, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces):

# Initialize on AWS S3
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-key
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret
restic init --repo s3:s3.amazonaws.com/my-backup-bucket

# Backup to S3
restic -r s3:s3.amazonaws.com/my-backup-bucket backup ~/Documents

# Restore from S3
restic -r s3:s3.amazonaws.com/my-backup-bucket restore latest

Forget Policy (Retention)

# Keep last 7 daily, 4 weekly, 12 monthly backups
restic -r /mnt/backups forget \
  --keep-daily 7 \
  --keep-weekly 4 \
  --keep-monthly 12 \
  --prune

# Check what will be deleted before pruning
restic -r /mnt/backups forget \
  --keep-daily 7 \
  --keep-weekly 4 \
  --keep-monthly 12 \
  --dry-run

Automation: Systemd Timer

# /etc/systemd/system/restic-backup.service
[Unit]
Description=Restic Backup
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/bin/restic -r /mnt/backups backup \
  /home/user/Documents \
  /home/user/Pictures
Environment=RESTIC_PASSWORD=your-password

# /etc/systemd/system/restic-backup.timer
[Unit]
Description=Restic Backup Timer

[Timer]
OnCalendar=daily
OnCalendar=02:00

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

Enable:

sudo systemctl enable restic-backup.timer
sudo systemctl start restic-backup.timer

Strengths

Limitations

Pricing

Free and open-source. Cloud storage costs depend on provider.

Duplicati: User-Friendly GUI

Duplicati provides a web-based interface making backups accessible to non-technical users while supporting encryption.

Installation and Setup

# macOS
brew install duplicati

# Linux
sudo apt install duplicati

# Windows: download installer from duplicati.com

# Start the service
duplicati --start-tray
# Opens http://localhost:8200 in browser

GUI Workflow

  1. Open http://localhost:8200
  2. Click “Add backup”
  3. Choose destination (local drive, S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, etc)
  4. Select folders to backup
  5. Set encryption password
  6. Choose schedule (daily, weekly, monthly)
  7. Save

Real-World Setup: Backup to AWS S3

GUI Steps:

1. New backup
2. Destination: Amazon S3
3. Enter AWS Access Key and Secret Key
4. Bucket: "my-family-backups"
5. Folders to backup:
   - /home/user/Documents
   - /home/user/Pictures
   - /home/user/Desktop
6. Encryption:
   - Passphrase: [strong password]
   - AES-256
7. Schedule: Daily at 2 AM
8. Backup: 100GB of data
9. Retention: Keep last 30 daily backups

Click Save and Duplicati handles everything.

Advanced Configuration

Duplicati can be configured via command-line for automation:

duplicati-cli backup \
  "s3://aws_keyid:aws_secret@s3.amazonaws.com/bucket/path" \
  /path/to/backup \
  --passphrase "your-password" \
  --keep-time "30d" \
  --backup-name "my-backup"

Strengths

Limitations

Pricing

Free and open-source. Cloud storage costs based on provider.

Arq: Commercial Backup Solution

Arq provides a polished macOS/Windows application with automatic backups and cloud integration.

Installation and Setup

1. Download from arqbackup.com
2. Install and launch
3. Choose destination:
   - Amazon S3
   - Backblaze B2 (often $0.01/GB/month)
   - Google Cloud Storage
   - Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, etc
4. Select folders to backup
5. Set encryption password
6. Enable automatic backup (every 5 minutes)

Features

Continuous backup: Monitors folders and backs up changes automatically.

De-duplication: Stores only changed files and blocks.

Versioning: Keep full history of file changes.

Selective restore: Restore individual files or full folders.

Real-World Example: Photographer Workflow

Photographer backing up photo library:

Arq Settings:
- Source: /Users/photographer/Photos (500GB)
- Destination: Backblaze B2
- Encryption: AES-256
- Automatic backup every 30 minutes while working

Cost: 500GB on B2 = $5/month storage
Versioning: Keep 30 versions of each file

Scenario: Photographer accidentally deletes recent photos
- Open Arq
- Select deleted photos date range
- Restore to original location
- Photos recovered instantly

Strengths

Limitations

Pricing

$69.99 one-time purchase (recent versions) or $59.99/year subscription.

Kopia: Modern and Fast

Kopia is a newer open-source backup tool with modern architecture, fast performance, and excellent deduplication.

Installation

# macOS
brew install kopia

# Linux
sudo apt install kopia

# Windows
choco install kopia

Basic Usage

# Create repository
kopia repository create filesystem --path /mnt/backup-repo

# Connect to existing repository
kopia repository connect filesystem --path /mnt/backup-repo

# Create snapshot
kopia snapshot create ~/Documents

# List snapshots
kopia snapshot list

# Restore files
kopia show <snapshot-id>
kopia restore <snapshot-id> ~/restore-location

S3 Backend

# Create repository on AWS S3
kopia repository create s3 \
  --bucket=my-backups \
  --endpoint=s3.amazonaws.com

# Backup
kopia snapshot create ~/Documents

# Restore
kopia restore <snapshot-id> ~/restore

Automation Script

#!/bin/bash
# Daily backup with Kopia

kopia repository connect filesystem --path /mnt/backups

# Backup multiple locations
kopia snapshot create ~/Documents
kopia snapshot create ~/Pictures
kopia snapshot create ~/Code

# Keep last 30 daily snapshots
kopia maintenance run --full

# Verify repository integrity
kopia repository verify

Schedule with cron:

0 2 * * * /home/user/kopia-backup.sh

Strengths

Limitations

Pricing

Free and open-source. Cloud storage costs depend on backend.

Comparison Matrix

Tool Type Dedup Ease of Use Cloud Support Speed Cost
Borg CLI Excellent Medium SSH only Fast Free
Restic CLI Excellent Easy Multiple Medium Free
Duplicati GUI Fair Very easy Multiple Slow Free
Arq App Excellent Very easy Multiple Fast $69.99
Kopia CLI/Web Excellent Medium Multiple Very fast Free

Backup Strategy by Use Case

Individual home computer (100GB): Use Duplicati or Arq. Set and forget approach.

Linux server (1TB+): Use Borg or Restic. Efficient storage, SSH access available.

Team data (multi-device): Use Kopia with S3 backend. Fast performance, scales well.

Budget-conscious: Use Restic to AWS or Wasabi. Cheap cloud storage ($0.006/GB/month at Wasabi).

Mac user wanting simplicity: Use Arq. Best experience, one-time purchase.

Restore Testing Checklist

Never skip restore testing. Backups don’t exist if you can’t restore:

Test each backup solution at least monthly.

Encryption Key Safety

Your encryption key is critical. If lost, backups are unrecoverable:

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