How does it connect to my devices when I'm away from home?

Harbor uses Tailscale, a widely-used networking service built on WireGuard. You install the free Tailscale app once on each device. In most setups your phone talks directly to the dock over an encrypted tunnel, with nothing in between. When a direct connection isn't possible (some mobile carriers, restrictive wifi), Tailscale relays the encrypted traffic — they can see that you connected, not what you sent. Harbor's servers are never in the data path; we don't see your files at any point.

Does it work on iPhone, Android, and desktop?

Yes. Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, and Android all work. Once you install Tailscale on your device, the dock appears like a local server. Open any browser, type its name, and your files are there.

What happens if my home internet goes down?

Devices on your home Wi-Fi can still access the dock normally. It is a local network device first, remote second. Remote access from outside the home pauses until your internet returns, the same as any home server. Your files are never lost; they live on your drive.

The Harbor Dock itself, a small low-power device, plus a power adapter, an Ethernet cable, and a quick-start card. You bring your own USB drive (any size, any brand).

What size USB drive can I use?

Any standard USB drive works. Common sizes range from 1TB to 20TB. Use one drive for personal storage, or pair two docks (one at home, one at a friend's or family member's place) for automatic encrypted off-site backup.

What happens if the drive dies?

A single dock with a single drive has the same failure profile as any single-drive setup: if the drive fails, what was on it is gone. Harbor isn't a RAID array; we don't pretend it is. The intended pattern for anything you can't afford to lose is two docks at two locations, syncing to each other. That's the off-site backup story. If you only buy one dock, treat it like you'd treat any external drive holding important files: keep a separate copy of the photos and documents you can't replace.

How much power does it use?

It's a low-power ARM device designed to run 24/7, like a Wi-Fi router. The impact on your electricity bill is minimal, closer to a smart hub than a desktop computer.

Will it be open source?

Yes, that's the plan. The dock software and companion tools will be open for anyone to audit, build, or fork. You probably won't ever need to look at the code, but knowing the option exists is the difference between owning your storage and renting it.

What if Harbor Dock the company disappears?

Your drive keeps working. Files are stored in standard formats. Plug the drive into any computer and read them directly. Tailscale is independent infrastructure that keeps running without us. You are never stranded.

Comparison

Harbor Dock vs Dropbox

Dropbox is the gold standard for cross-device file sync, with mature apps, sharing flows, and zero ops on the user's side. Harbor Dock is a small box you plug into your home to escape the subscription and keep your files local. They overlap less than the URL suggests, but the audiences do, so here is the honest version.

Who each is for

Pick Dropbox if…

You share files with non-technical collaborators a lot (clients, vendors, family who don't know what Tailscale is).
You want auto-photo-backup with a real mobile app today.
You will not plug in any hardware. Even one box is too much.
The subscription cost doesn't bother you.

Pick Harbor Dock if…

You want to stop paying $X/month forever for storage you already own a drive for.
You want your files physically at home, not on a third party's servers.
You already have files scattered across Dropbox, Drive, and iCloud and want one place to consolidate or back up from them.
You only share with your own devices and a small circle.

Side by side

	Harbor Dock	Dropbox
Where files live	On a USB drive in your home, plugged into the dock.	On Dropbox's servers in the US (mostly).
Cost shape	One-time hardware purchase. No subscription.	Subscription, monthly or yearly, forever.
Storage capacity	Whatever USB drive you bring (1 TB to 20 TB+ available).	2 GB free; 2 TB on Plus; 3 TB on Family/Professional.
Setup time	Plug in drive, plug in ethernet, type http://harbor.	Sign up, install app, sign in.
Mobile sync UX	Files via WebDAV (works in iOS Files / Android file managers). No native app on v1.	World-class. Native apps, background sync, offline cache, photo backup.
Photo auto-backup	Not on v1.	Yes, Camera Uploads on iOS and Android.
Sharing with non-users	Devices on your Tailscale network only. No public share links.	Excellent: shareable links, file requests, password protection, expiration.
Bring existing cloud files in	rclone-driven import UI for Dropbox, Drive, Proton, iCloud, OneDrive, Mega.	Limited (some integrations). Designed to be the destination, not the consolidator.
Encryption	Encrypted in transit (Tailscale/WireGuard) and at rest (opt-in LUKS).	Encrypted in transit and at rest. Dropbox holds the keys.
Privacy	Files never leave your home unless you reach them remotely (then encrypted point-to-point).	Files always live on Dropbox servers. Subject to their policies and any subpoenas.
Internet outage at home	Local devices keep working. Remote access pauses until internet returns.	Cached files keep working. New uploads queue.
What if vendor disappears	USB drive readable on any computer. OS open-source on launch.	Files exportable but the workflow disappears. Migration to a competitor is the answer.
Cost over 5 years (rough)	One-time hardware + USB drive. No recurring fees.	Plus tier: roughly $700+ over 5 years. Family/Professional: $1100+.

The most common pattern: keep both, for now

Plenty of people sit somewhere in the middle. They want their photos and primary files at home, but they still need Dropbox-style share links for work or family that won't install Tailscale. Harbor Dock's rclone-driven import is built for exactly this case: you connect Dropbox, pull a copy of what you want home, and decide on a per-folder basis what stays in sync vs. what gets archived locally.

For most people, the realistic path is to use Harbor as the long-term archive and shrink the Dropbox plan, not delete the account.

Bottom line

Dropbox is great at being Dropbox. If your job depends on sharing with strangers and the subscription is a rounding error, stay with Dropbox. Harbor Dock is for people who want their files on hardware they own, who are tired of renewal emails, and who don't need public share links.

We're pre-launch and honest about what's shipped vs. roadmap. If you want to escape the subscription and consolidate your cloud accounts in one place, reserve a unit and we'll keep you in the loop.