# Set up Plan analytics without exposing private player data

Plan records Minecraft player activity and presents analysis through a web dashboard. It can help you understand sessions and activity patterns, but it does not replace host monitoring or a lag profiler. Decide who should see the dashboard before exposing its web listener.

## Choose the deployment and preserve existing records

Check Plan's supported platform, Minecraft and Java requirements for the release you download. Use its standalone game-server setup for one Paper server. A Velocity or BungeeCord network needs the separate network arrangement; do not point multiple installations at a shared database by guesswork.

Read [plugin installation](https://help.cloudexa-hosting.com/books/game-hosting/page/install-plugins-on-a-paper-or-purpur-minecraft-server), stop normally and keep a completed backup. When updating Plan, preserve its configuration and database together. If it already uses an external database, export that database as well: a file backup alone does not capture remote records.

## Start privately and verify the collector

1. Install the appropriate release from Plan's official project links and start once.
2. Read Console for configuration, database and webserver startup messages. Fix the first relevant error before opening the dashboard.
3. Stop and review the generated configuration. Record the database type and webserver address/port.
4. Use only an allocated TCP port for the dashboard. If none is available, ask support instead of copying a default port from a guide.
5. Join with a test player, leave normally and allow the collector to process that activity. Confirm the expected server and timeframe in the dashboard.

A new database cannot reconstruct player sessions from before Plan was installed. A missing historical graph is not automatically evidence that the service lost records. Check time filters, the server selected and whether you connected to a fresh database accidentally.

## Protect dashboard access

Follow Plan's current login and HTTPS setup before sending a dashboard URL to staff. Use separate accounts and only the web permissions needed for their role. Avoid sharing a single administrator login or placing credentials in screenshots.

If you need a reverse proxy or domain, arrange the supported routing with CloudExa support. A random DNS record cannot add TLS to a plain HTTP listener. Do not expose database ports publicly to make the web interface work; the web application and database connection are different paths.

Plan also supports exporting web files, but the official documentation lists missing features for that mode, including its normal login/access-control functionality. Do not publish exported player pages on a public website and assume the dashboard's authentication still protects them.

## Check retention, resources and recovery

Review what information you collect, who can view it and how long you need it. Keep public screenshots free of player IPs and other private information. Monitor database growth and include its matched backup in your recovery plan.

For a blank or unreachable dashboard, distinguish listener failure, incorrect endpoint, HTTPS configuration and login permissions. For absent activity, check collection logs and the intended database. Provide support with the server ID, Plan build, timestamp and redacted error. See [plugin database connections](https://help.cloudexa-hosting.com/books/game-hosting/page/connect-a-minecraft-plugin-to-a-mysql-database). Further reading: [game-server setup](https://github.com/plan-player-analytics/Plan/wiki/Bukkit-Set-Up), [login and HTTPS](https://github.com/plan-player-analytics/Plan/wiki/SSL-Certificate-(HTTPS)-Set-Up) and [export limitations](https://github.com/plan-player-analytics/Plan/wiki/External-WebServer-Use).

Looking for another plugin? [Browse the Minecraft plugin guide directory](https://help.cloudexa-hosting.com/books/minecraft-plugins/page/find-a-minecraft-plugin-setup-or-troubleshooting-guide).