# GetSafeDocs Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with **GetSafeDocs** in under 5 minutes. This guide walks you through creating your account, sending your first malware-scanned document package, sharing access tokens, viewing received files safely in the browser sandbox, and requesting files from clients.

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## Table of Contents

1. [Step 1: Create Your Account (2 Minutes)](#step-1-create-your-account-2-minutes)
2. [Step 2: Send Your First Secure Document (2 Minutes)](#step-2-send-your-first-secure-document-2-minutes)
3. [Step 3: Manage Recipients & Share Links or Tokens (1 Minute)](#step-3-manage-recipients--share-links-or-tokens-1-minute)
4. [Step 4: Access & Preview Shared Documents (No Account Needed)](#step-4-access--preview-shared-documents-no-account-needed)
5. [Step 5: Request Documents from Clients (Premium & Enterprise)](#step-5-request-documents-from-clients-premium--enterprise)
6. [Account Tiers at a Glance](#account-tiers-at-a-glance)
7. [Next Steps & Additional Guides](#next-steps--additional-guides)

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## Step 1: Create Your Account (2 Minutes)

1. Visit **[GetSafeDocs Registration](https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/register)** (or click **Sign Up** in the top navigation bar on `https://getsafedocs.com`).
2. **Choose your sign-up method:**
   - **Email & Password:** Enter your email address and create a strong password (minimum 8 characters), then accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
   - **Sign in with Google:** Use one-click Google OAuth authentication for instant account setup.
3. **Verify your email:** Check your inbox for the verification email from GetSafeDocs and click the verification link (or enter the verification code on `/verify_email`).
4. **Optional — Add a Passkey or Generate an API Key (Recommended):**
   - Once signed in, open **[Profile](https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/profile)** → **User Account Information**.
   - Under **Passkeys**, click **Add Passkey** to register Touch ID, Face ID, Windows Hello, or a hardware security key (such as a YubiKey) for instant passwordless sign-in.
   - Under **Developer API Keys**, generate a personal `gsd_...` key (`X-API-Key`) if you want to automate uploads and document sharing via the [REST API](markdown_viewer.html?file=api_docs) without needing a password.

> **Enterprise Auto-Enrollment Tip:** If your organization has registered your corporate email domain under **Enterprise Management**, signing up with your work email automatically enrolls your account into your company's **Enterprise** plan upon email verification.

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## Step 2: Send Your First Secure Document (2 Minutes)

1. Sign in and click **Send Documents** (`https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/send_message`).
2. **Upload Your Files:**
   - Click **Choose Files** (or drag and drop files into the upload box).
   - Files upload directly to Google Cloud Storage in **Toronto, Ontario, Canada (`northamerica-northeast2`)** over TLS 1.3 and are immediately scanned for threats by the **QuickSand Malware Analysis** engine.
   - Once the progress bar reaches `100%`, a security badge (**Clean**, **Suspicious**, or **Malicious**) appears next to each file along with a **View Malware Scan Results** button.
3. **Configure Security & Delivery Options:**
   - **Preview Only (Optional):** Check **Preview Only** to restrict recipients to viewing documents inside the secure browser sandbox (`PDF`, `Word`, `Excel`, `PowerPoint`, `Markdown`, images, and text) while disabling raw file downloads.
   - **Subject & Message:** Enter a required **Subject** and an optional **Message** body. (You can also send a secure text message without attaching any files.)
   - **Activity Notifications (Optional):** Check **Notify me when recipients view or download this message** to receive real-time email alerts with timestamp, IP address, and browser details whenever your document is accessed.
   - **Message Expiry (Premium & Enterprise):** Select an expiration window from **1 Day** up to **1 Year** (Free accounts default to **1 Month**).
4. **Add Recipients:**
   - **By Email:** Enter one or more comma-separated email addresses (`client@example.com, partner@example.com`).
   - **By Mailing List (Premium & Enterprise):** Select a saved recipient group from the **Or Select a Mailing List** dropdown.
   - **Manual Token Only:** Leave the recipient fields blank to generate a single **Manual Access Code** that you can share yourself over any channel (Signal, Teams, Slack, SMS, or phone).
5. Click **Send Message**.

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## Step 3: Manage Recipients & Share Links or Tokens (1 Minute)

After clicking **Send Message**, you are taken to **Recipient Management** (`https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/recipient_management?message_id=...`):

- **Existing GetSafeDocs Account Holders (`Account Holder` badge):**
  - If a recipient already has a GetSafeDocs account, your message is delivered directly to their secure **GetSafeDocs Inbox** and they are automatically notified by email—no external token is needed in the email.
- **External Recipients (No Account Required):**
  - **Send Email Notification:** Keep the checkbox next to their email selected and click **Send Selected Emails** to send an email containing their unique **ID Token** and access instructions.
  - **Share Manually:** Uncheck the email box and use the **Copy** buttons next to **Token ID** (e.g., `k9m4p2x7`) or **Full URL** (`https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/access_document?token=...`) to share access over your own preferred communication channel.

You can return to **Outbox** (`https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/outbox`) at any time to view sent messages, inspect view/download activity logs, resend notifications, or extend message expiration dates before they expire.

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## Step 4: Access & Preview Shared Documents (No Account Needed)

Recipients do **not** need a GetSafeDocs account to view or download shared files:

1. **Enter Your Token or Click the Link:**
   - Visit **https://getsafedocs.com** (or **[Access Document](https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/access_document)**), paste your **Access Token**, and click **Access Documents**; **or** click the direct `/access_document?token=...` link shared by the sender.
   - Check the box agreeing to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and click **Access Document**.
2. **Verify Malware Scan Status:**
   - Review the **Clean** security badge and click **View Scan Report** (`scan_report`) to inspect cryptographic file hashes (`SHA-256`, `SHA-1`, `MD5`), verified MIME type, and threat analysis results before opening any file.
3. **Preview or Download:**
   - **Safe Preview in Sandbox:** Click **Preview** / **View** to open PDFs, Microsoft Office documents (`Word`, `Excel`, `PowerPoint`), Markdown, images, or text files directly in your browser without downloading them to your device.
   - **Download:** Click **Download** on individual files or **Download All as ZIP** (unless the sender enabled **Preview Only** mode).
4. **Send a Reply:**
   - Use the **Reply** box at the bottom of the message page to send a response back to the sender. (Free users can send an initial reply; Premium and Enterprise users can participate in full back-and-forth threaded conversations.)

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## Step 5: Request Documents from Clients (Premium & Enterprise)

Need a client, vendor, or applicant to send sensitive files *to you* without requiring them to create an account?

1. Open **Document Requests** (`https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/document_requests`) and click **Create New Request**.
2. Enter a **Request Name** (e.g., `2026 Tax Return Intake`), optional **Description**, and **Expiry (days)** (`0` for no expiry, or up to `365` days).
3. Configure **Max File Size**, **Max Files per Submission**, **Allowed File Types** (e.g., `pdf,docx,xlsx,jpg,png`), and which fields the submitter must provide (**Email address**, **Subject**, **Message**).
4. Click **Create Request**, then share the request using **Copy Token ID**, **Copy Full URL**, or the **Share Request** email button.
5. External users simply open the link, drag and drop their files (which are automatically scanned for malware), and submit. All submissions appear in your **Document Requests** dashboard and your **Inbox**.

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## Account Tiers at a Glance

| Feature | Free Tier | Premium Tier | Enterprise Tier |
|---------|-----------|--------------|-----------------|
| **Max File Size** | **5 MB** per file | **128 MB** per file | **200 MB** per file |
| **Max Files per Message** | 1 file | 20 files | 20 files |
| **Monthly Messages** | 10 / month | 300 / month | 300 / month per seat |
| **Max Recipients per Message** | 2 recipients | 30 recipients | 100 recipients |
| **Monthly Viewed/Received Data** | 100 MB / month | 3,000 MB (3 GB) / month | 5,000 MB (5 GB) / month per seat |
| **Message Expiry** | 1 Month (Default) | 1 Day to 1 Year (Extendable) | 1 Day to 1 Year (Extendable) |
| **Supported File Formats** | 61 formats (docs, images, archives, code) | 82 formats (+ video, audio & design) | 82 formats (+ custom exceptions) |
| **Real-Time Malware Scanning** | ✅ Included | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
| **Safe Browser Sandbox Preview** | ✅ Included | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
| **Passkeys (FIDO2 / WebAuthn)** | ✅ Included | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
| **Developer REST API & API Keys** | ✅ Included | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
| **Two-Factor Auth (TOTP / Email)** | — | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
| **Document Request Portals** | — | ✅ Unlimited | ✅ Unlimited |
| **Mailing Lists & Activity Tracking** | — | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
| **Threaded Reply Conversations** | Initial reply | ✅ Full threads | ✅ Full threads |
| **Enterprise Admin & Auto-Enroll Domains** | — | — | ✅ Included (5-seat blocks) |

*Try **Premium** free for 7 days on the **[Pricing Page](https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/pricing)**.*

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## Next Steps & Additional Guides

- **[Complete User Guide](markdown_viewer.html?file=user_guide):** Detailed instructions on every GetSafeDocs feature, security setting, and troubleshooting tip.
- **[Enterprise Admin Guide](markdown_viewer.html?file=enterprise_admin_guide):** Complete guide to setting up your company workspace, configuring Auto-Enrollment Email Domains, and managing seats and invitations.
- **[Supported File Types Reference](https://getsafedocs.cloud.run/file_types):** Live list of all allowed Free and Premium/Enterprise file extensions and blocked executable types.
- **[API Documentation](markdown_viewer.html?file=api_docs):** REST API reference for developer integrations.
- **[Security Documentation](security-documentation.html):** Security Architecture White Paper, OWASP Top 10 Assessment, and Compliance Overview.