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Files

Unlike the old days, cloud services have become the go-to space for quick and easy file storage.

  • If you already have signed in to Boxcryptor sucessfully, you can continue offline. All files will be available. However, you will not be able to alter Boxcryptor permissions or use other online features of Boxcryptor.
  • Boxcryptor integrates seamlessly with Dropbox, allowing you to benefit from all of Dropbox’s features whilst adding additional security. With Boxcryptor, you can continue to collaborate with your team, share files with others and access your data on all of your devices. Perfect for teams.

It does not matter if it’s a photograph or a spreadsheet, you can upload them all.

Boxcryptor will immediately trigger a download via Dropbox Smart Sync and waits until it finished. After the download finished, the file open process will continue. If the download takes more than 3 seconds, Boxcryptor will abort the file open operation in order to preserve the responsibility of the Boxcryptor. A colleague and I use a shared folder which she owns and we recently both installed Boxcryptor to encrypt our files. For about a month, I could download or view files from the shared folder, which she owns, but recently when I try to open files in just one particular sub-folder I.

But, what if it’s more confidential than that? Well, that is where the problem comes.

The hard truth about cloud storage

There is no denial that cloud storage services are awesome, and most cloud storage services claim they “take every precaution” to keep your data secure. Services like Google Drive and Dropbox offer super-cool security features as well. But, there is one thing.

Not many of the popular cloud storage services offer robust file encryption. It means the files are stored in the real form — for quick access, of course. Now, this ain’t a problem if you are uploading some random photographs. But, it’s the real issue when you’re uploading some confidential documents.

In other words, you need an extra layer of security. We are talking about a layer that protects all your data even if someone has access to the cloud services. Like, they may access your Google Drive or Dropbox folder but they cannot open the important files. Awesome, huh?

Well, thank encryption software for that.

What is file encryption software?

Encryption is, so far, the best way you can keep all your digital assets safe. File encryption is the process of converting data from readable form to a type of encoded form. A decryption key is created during the process. Now, open the encoded file and read the content, anyone would need the decryption key. As it happens, file encryption is one of the most effective ways to enhance file security.

Once you have encrypted a file, you cannot access the file without the decryption key. Sounds cool, right?

So, a File Encryption Software is a specially designed tool that you can use to encrypt your data yourself before sending it to the cloud, ensuring that only you can decrypt your files. It does not matter which type of file you have — be it documents, media files, software keys or anything. In a single click, you’d be able to encrypt the content and get the decryption key.

Here we’ve put together this list of such encryption apps for your perusal. And, keep in mind, if you ever lose your private encryption key, that data is lost to you forever.

What makes the good encryption tools?

As it happens, there is a wide variety of file encryption tools in the market. We wanted to bring you the list of the best. So, our selection was based on the following aspects.

  • Usability: Trust me, you don’t want encryption tools that are command-line-based. So, we’ve chosen encryption tools that offer an intuitive Graphical User Interface. You should be able to encrypt all the files in a jiffy.
  • Integration: Of course, we are trying to protect the data you have stored in cloud. So, the encryption tool must integrate well with cloud storage services. This could be done at the system level or at the web-interface level.
  • Security: We wanted to pick an encryption tool that offers the best form of encryption. We pick the AES as the standard algorithm, as it’s considered unbreakable and trusted by US Government itself. Of course, additional features are welcome.
  • Compatibility: Not everyone uses Google Drive or Dropbox, right? So, the encryption software should also be compatible with other cloud storage services like Amazon Cloud and others.

We have made our top picks and runners-up keeping these aspects in mind. We hope the tools help.

Best pick — Boxcryptor

Boxcryptor is one of the most popular file encryption tool that is optimized for cloud storage services. It will allow you to encrypt the files you upload to popular services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and more. But, Boxcryptor has more to offer than this simple function. That is why we chose this freemium tool as our best pick.

What is Boxcryptor?

Boxcryptor is a cloud security software that is made in Germany. Regardless of what you are uploading, this tool can encrypt them all. This brings a brand-new level of security to the files you have stored in the cloud. Available for both personal and commercial use, Boxcryptor offers unique features for both plans. It’s also great that you can get a free-to-use plan if you want Boxcryptor for personal security needs.

Getting started with Boxcryptor

Boxcryptor is surely the easiest to set up encryption tool for cloud storage. The apps are available for macOS, Windows, Android and iOS. It means you can access the encrypted files from all these four platforms. Right now, however, we will check out the macOS app.

In order to get started, you have to download Boxcryptor for macOS and install it on your Mac. This process takes just a few seconds and you can see the pop-up screen soon. You will have to grant admin privileges to the tool during the installation process.

The next step wants you to create a Boxcryptor account. You need to be a bit careful here. The Boxcryptor account is your key to accessing the encrypted file. If you lose the password, you cannot recover any file that you have encrypted.

Once this is done, you are ready to encrypt files using Boxcryptor.

Encrypting files using Boxcryptor

As we said earlier, Boxcryptor has been designed for protecting cloud storage content. To get started, you’ll have to go to Preferences Locations and connect your Cloud Storage accounts. In this case, we’ve already connected our Dropbox account. Once connected, a Dropbox account would appear inside the Boxcryptor drive.

Now, things are simple.

Encrypting individual files

Your Dropbox folder inside Boxcryptor looks like a normal Finder window. The only difference is that it will be synced with the Dropbox folder. Now, if you want to encrypt files inside the folder, you can Right Click Boxcryptor Encrypt. This will almost instantly encrypt the selected file. And, the next time Dropbox syncs with your device, everything is good to go.

Creating an encrypted folder

When you have so many files, encrypting all of them one by one can be a tiresome task. Understanding this issue, Boxcryptor lets you create an Encrypted folder as well.

To do that, you have to choose New Folder from the context menu. When Boxcryptor asks you whether you want to encrypt the folder, say Yes. That’s how you create an encrypted folder.
Everything you add to the Encrypted folder will be automatically encrypted. Once again, this is a great time-saver indeed.

As you have seen, Boxcryptor works great in either case. It does not matter how many files you want to encrypt — be it 10 or 1,000 —, Boxcryptor would do the job very well.

Integration

There are two types of integration we’d like to talk about — with the system and the cloud service.

Boxcryptor integrates quite effectively with the macOS system. As you can see above, encryption control is available via context menu. If you have already installed Dropbox on your Mac and enabled auto-sync, you’d not even know the hassle of encryption. You add something to the folder, it’s synced instantly.
In the other level of integration as well, Boxcryptor is great. Setting up your cloud storage accounts looks like a piece of cake indeed. If you have already installed the cloud storage app on your Mac, Boxcryptor will go ahead and detect the drive. That’s some kind of integration, if you ask us.

Compatibility

Compatibility is the strong point of Boxcryptor. To begin with, Boxcryptor supports 30+ cloud storage service providers. The list includes popular service providers like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive but also business-line products like Amazon S3, Cloudme, Amazon Cloud Drive, SharePoint Online etc. What’s more, you can use Boxcryptor to encrypt local drives as well.

The setup process may vary according to the service, though. For instance, if you want to set up iCloud, you will have to consider which devices you will be using. That is, if you want to access the files from iOS devices, there is an option. However, if you need access from PC, there’s something else. Fortunately, Boxcryptor is offering illustrative guides for all these tasks.

Altogether, the compatibility point is strong enough.

Security

Of course, you should know about security while picking an encryption tool. And, Boxcryptor brings the best of both worlds.
Boxcryptor uses a combination of AES-256 and RSA. The encryption process works in a way that a single key is generated when an encrypted file is created. It should be noted that AES-256 is the encryption algorithm used by NSA for storing confidential documents. So, whatever you encrypt using Boxcryptor is as secure as NSA files!

As it can be seen, there is no compromise when it comes to encryption tech.

Additional features

Apart from file encryption and management, Boxcryptor offers some additional features as well. Some are:

  • You can share encrypted files with other Boxcryptor users. While doing this, you have more control over how encryption keys are managed and the overall scenario of security.
  • Boxcryptor is offering Zero-Knowledge Encryption. It means the people behind Boxcryptor have no way to know what you have encrypted.
  • Boxcryptor also allows some level of customization of the User Interface and other features. You can, for instance, set up a passcode or PIN for the program settings.
What we didn’t like much

Boxcryptor is indeed the best encryption tool out there, but it isn’t perfect. There are a few things that we’d have loved to see.

First of all, Boxcryptor does not have a password reset option. Well, the company says the feature is added to enhance the security layer. That is, Boxcryptor itself does not have access to your encryptions. However, the lack of password reset can be a nightmare sometime.

We also thought Boxcryptor could have added an advanced Preferences pane. The current one does the job but it won’t hurt to have much more control. We also came across a few troubles while going through the existing settings.

Apart from these, Boxcryptor just rocks.

Availability & pricing

Boxcryptor apps are available for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. All these work based on the Boxcryptor you have created. Once signed in, you can access open and work on encrypted files. As we said in the very beginning, you must not forget the password.

As far as pricing goes, Boxcryptor offers a completely free plan for personal use. The restriction here is that you can connect only one cloud storage service. If you want unlimited account support, you can pay $48 per year. There is also a Business plan with extra features, costing you $96 per year.

In case you are interested, you can check out Boxcryptor plans for Teams as well.

Our verdict

Considering all these features, the simple UI and free availability, Boxcryptor is definitely the best encryption tool out there. It’s really optimized for almost every cloud storage service out there, which is great. At the end of the day, we’d recommend Boxcryptor to everyone.

The alternatives

So, Boxcryptor is definitely the best pick, but it’s not the only player in the game-field. Here are a few of the best encryption tools you can choose from. As you may have guessed, some of these are made for dedicated purposes. And, they may not offer enough features in all departments. Still, worth a shot.

Cryptomator is what we would call the best from open source. It’s a completely free — well, you can pay an amount if you want — tool to encrypt data on your Mac, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS devices. When it is compared to other tools, the process is way too transparent. However, once again, we miss the perks of cloud storage integration.


Setting up Cryptomator is like a piece of cake, thanks to the intuitive User Interface. Once you are done, you can create Vaults, which will function as encrypted drives. Everything you drag and drop to these drives will be instantly encrypted — offering the best results. It’s using AES Encryption for the top-level security and it offers on-the-fly encryption tech as well.

You can create as many vaults as you want and save them anywhere in your Mac. When you are done, the software will show you enough information to streamline the process. For instance, it even shows you the amount of files you have encrypted and decrypted. At the end of the day, these features add a lot to overall usability of Cryptomator.

We’d recommend Cryptomator if you are looking for something free and open source. Completely reliable from all perspective, you can’t possibly go wrong with this.

nCrypted Cloud is another great encryption tool to keep your cloud storage secure. Compared to Boxcryptor, the UI is not really intuitive either. We understand it’s an enterprise-focused tool, but they could have simplified the UI. If you are ready to ignore the tough UI, you’d have no trouble with nCrypted Cloud.
Apps of nCrypted Cloud are available for Android, iOS, macOS and Windows. Once logged in, all the devices will be in sync. Everything else works almost like Boxcryptor. For instance, you can right click and encrypt or decrypt the file. You can also create encrypted folders, which will add privacy to any file/folder that is added inside.

Because it’s an enterprise-oriented solution, nCrypted Cloud offers a few team-based features. For instance, you can share the encrypted files with a number of users. Even after sharing, it lets you retain proper control over permissions. It’s making use of 256-AES for encryption algorithm and the single sign-on tech makes lots of things easier.

As far as the pricing goes, nCrypted Cloud is completely free for non-commercial use. It does not restrict the number of cloud storage services you can connect.

Encrypto is a completely free-to-use file encryption tool available for macOS and Windows. However, it has not been optimized for cloud services. You will have to manually upload/send the encrypted file once the process is complete. But, as far as that process goes, Encrypto is the best in the field, offering an intuitive UI on top of everything.

Using Encrypto is simple enough. Once you have launched the program, you can drag and drop the files to be converted. Soon enough, Encrypto will ask you to provide a password and hint. This password is necessary to decrypt the file and open the content. And you guessed it, the other person would have to install Encrypto on their device to open the file.

Despite the minimal footprint, Encrypto is really fast when it comes to file encryption. We should also talk of its impressive UI. Amidst the whole load of work, encrypting and decrypting files using Encrypto would be a good thing. It also integrates well with Hider 2, an application from Macpaw to hide files in your Mac. So, it’s a win-win.

Encrypto is completely free to use and is available for both macOS and Windows. If you don’t want cloud-storage optimization, it’s a great choice.

First things first, Sookasa isn’t a customer-oriented cloud security team. Instead, they aim to offer enterprise-level security for organizations. Even with that fact aside, we can use the file encryption tool from Sookasa to do almost everything. The way Sookasa works is similar to that of some of the other tools we have listed above.

The differences are, however, present when it comes to features. Almost all the features of Sookasa will help you employ organization-level cloud security. It uses top-notch security algorithms, unique ways for storing decryption keys and dedicated encryption tech for popular cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox and an innumerable other.

You should also note that Sookasa is not going to be that easy to set up. That is essentially because the tool is made for enterprise needs. Even then, you can give the consumer version a try. Or, if you are on the middle ground, Sookasa will be the best choice indeed. After all, when you have something so important to secure, you wouldn’t want to miss on-device security and data-key separation.

The Pro version of Sookasa start at $10 per month. There is also a custom-made Enterprise version that you may want to check out. Its end-user apps are available for macOS and Windows.

The bottom line

Remember, the cloud might look safe, but your own security and privacy really depend on you the most. It is time to take responsibility and start securing your stuff properly. With tools like Boxcryptor offering top features even in the free version, there are no more excuses not to.

Most of the Privacy Vault app doesn’t ensure data recovery in case of device change or device damage. During the device change, my friend lost all his encrypted photos saved in a gallery vault app.

Gallery lock apps

Usually, an Android user uses an App Lock application to protect your files and applications. This app lock comes generally built-in in most of the Smartphones. Well, it doesn’t matter you use a system integrated app lock software or installed from Google Play. The important thing is that this app lock software doesn’t encrypt your files and if someone is able to access your files and transfer them in their phone, your app lock software will not be there to guard.

In simple words app-lock applications just prevent invaders at the device level. For instance, if you apply app-lock on your phone gallery, the app-lock prevents access to the gallery and not the files. If someone is successful to install any other photo explorer in your phone, he could be able to see your photos.

If you have highly sensitive data whether it is in regard to your professional life or personal life, you will not want to expose it to others – locally or remotely.

Now I tell you different scenarios when your app-lock fails to protect your data

  • If someone knows your phone password, they can access the phone and install his own file manager via apk file and view and transfer your applock protected files easily
  • If you have not protected your Google Play, they can uninstall your applock program and your files gets exposed
  • They can disable system applock if they know the phone password and your files get exposed
  • If your phone is lost. Your phone’s external storage can easily be accessed easily.

Attention – An encryption vault program needs to be chosen carefully. There are many apps listed as gallery vault/file vault etc. and they offer a free vault where you can keep your confidential data such as photos/videos/passwords and more. But they don’t have any way to transport data from one to another device. If accidently you uninstall the app or want to change your phone, you may get set to loss all your confidential data – a disastrous situation for some time.

Taking it all into account we have researched on encryption vault apps that not only offers powerful encryption but also, they provide enough protection against data loss.

What measures should you take before opting for a secret vault/secret gallery/photo hide app

  • The app must utilize AES encryption to protect your files
  • The app must come from a trusted company or developer
  • The app must have an option to restore your data from one to another device with the password that you have used to encrypt your vault
  • It would be an icing on the cake if it works on the different platforms/OS

To make your files 100% safe, you need to guard them with AES encryption.

Beware – The XIAOMI company is playing with the security of their users sensitive content. The company simply hides files by renaming them and calling it encryption. This type of pseudo encrypted files are easily discovered on internal storage and can be viewed directly with suitable programs. There is a strong recommendation not to use the file manager's built-in encryption tool in MIUI.

Google, Microsoft, Dropbox and most of the online data storage services have access to your stored files. And your stored files can be access in different circumstances like –

  • by a fraudulent admin who have access to encryption keys stored on the cloud
  • If court directs cloud storage company to give access to specific users' account to particular government agency
  • if an attacker gains access to the encryption keys

Protect your sensitive data with zero knowledge before sending them to cloud

Zero Knowledge Encryption is the only way that provides 99.99% protection to your sensitive data saved offline or online. In this case only the client has access to encryption keys and without client's permission, no-one can have access to files stored online or offline.

Boxcryptor – The best way to protect your data offline or online

Boxcryptor is the most trusted service to encrypt your online and offiline data. With the help of Boxcryptor you can encrypt your Android device files (any kinds of file). Generally, Boxcryptor is used to encrypt files before sending to cloud storage like OneDrive/GoogleDrive/DropBox etc. But I want to tell you that we can even encrypt local device files on Android too. And on top of everything Boxcryptor is cross device compatible software I.e. you can access your files on Windows/Mac that are encrypted on Android and vice versa.

Boxcryptor provides end to end encryption and even Boxcryptor guys can’t access your data.

How to use Boxcryptor

  • Install Boxcryptor and signup for free or I would recommend to go for a paid plan that lifts all free plan limitations.
  • After signup, you can add your local storage device as a “location” . Note that with free plan, you can add not more than one location. So better to consider Boxcryptor’s premium plan which is pretty affordable.

FAQ regarding Boxcryptor

Is my data 100% safe with Boxcryptor

Boxcryptor offers 256bit AES end to end encryption and that is why they don’t know about your master password and even CEO of Boxcryptor can’t get his hands on your files. In my opinion Boxcryptor is the best method to encrypt files locally or on the cloud storage.

What happened if I forget my Boxcryptor password?

As they don’t store passwords or encryption keys. There will be no way to recover password if somebody forget it. So be cautious and store your Boxcryptor password in a safe place.

What happened if I want to transfer my encrypted files from one to another Android device

Simply copy your encrypted files to new device. Install Boxcryptor and sign in with the same Boxcryptor account. Add a “location” in Boxcryptor app and then put all your encrypted files to that folder.

How to access encrypted files in Windows/Mac PC

Install Boxcryptor in PC and sign in with the same Boxcryptor account

Put your encrypted files in a folder somewhere in your PC

Now go to app settings and add that folder as a location. And there you go. You will be able to decrypt your file via Boxcryptor virtual drive.

Mega.nz

Mega.nz offers a cloud vault with military grade unbreakable encryption. Mega.nz offers up to 30GB free storage in its encrypted vault. As far as I know, no other cloud storage provider offers so much storage for free. The great thing regarding mega is that you can access your secret vault not only on your Android devices but even you can access it on PC and in browsers as well. In other words, there is no single chance to lose your data until you have your mega.nz password. 2 step authentication makes your mega.nz cloud vault even more secure and almost unbreakable.

Features of mega.nz encryption vault

  • 30GB free 100% secure cloud storage with zero knowledge encryption, client side encryption
  • Military grade AES encryption for both free and paid users
  • Optional 2FA
  • Capture photos and videos direct from mega.nz Android app
  • Sync your device videos and photos to your cloud
  • Keep your confidential files in an encrypted cloud vault
  • Cross platform access Android/PC/Web browsers

“Keep on the device feature” keeps desired files on the device (for offline access) but in encrypted form and accessible exclusively via mega.nz app.

How to use Mega.nz

  • Install mega.nz android app.
  • Create a free account
  • Create a strong password for your account and never dare to forget it otherwise you will lose everything that you will store on your mega.nz vault. Note that it is just for your security so that no one can lay their hands on your data. So, don’t get it wrong way.

What if I lose my device, what will happen to my secret mega.nz vault?

Your data will remain safe as it is saved on the cloud and you can access it from anywhere using your mega.nz username and password. If you don’t have your mega.nz password, you must have mega.nz account recovery key. Recovery key is a key something like a Windows fame Bitlocker recovery key. It is highly advisable to download and keep the recovery key backed up in a safe place. If you don’t have a recovery key, your data will not be recoverable (this is because your data is end-to-end encrypted)

I want to change my Smartphone. How to transfer my secret vault to a new device?

All you need to do is to log out mega.nz app on old device and install the app on the new device. Then, log in. You can access your cloud vault there.

SGallery – A true Encryption vault for Android – Free

SG Gallery is a Google Play verified file hide and true encryption app that can create a vault in your phone and store your encrypted files safely in the vault. With the help of SGallery app, you can encrypt your files through AES encryption algorithm, and no one can lay their hands on your encrypted files inside or outside your phone even when he/she has copies of your encrypted files.

SGallery protects your file vault using your own supplied password and all encrypted data remains stored on your device.

What will happen to your encrypted data if you uninstall SGallery app

SGallery let you secure your encrypted data through your own defined password or patter protection. If you uninstall and reinstall the application, you need to provide the same password or pattern, otherwise you will not be able to recover.

  • If you are transferring phone data from one to another, make sure to take a backup of .privacy_safe folder to somewhere else. For instance, on your PC or a cloud account (Onedrive/GoogleDrive)
  • In the case of a phone change or data transfer between devices, this app is pretty safe to use to restore encrypted data.
  • Please be aware that SGallery does not store any of your data on the cloud. So be sure to keep your “.privacy_safe” folder backed up regularly on any of your cloud storage accounts such as Google Drive or OneDrive. My recommendation would not be to use Dropbox free as their account deletion policy is harsher than that of others.

LockMyPix – Free Encryption vault app for Android

Another much similar app to SGallery but one step better. LockMyPix offers to create a backup of all your stored files in the encrypted vault. This backup can be restored only if it is given the encryption password that was set when the backup was taken. LockMyPix vault offers true AES encryption and you can be 100% sure of the privacy of your encrypted files inside and outside of your device.

What if my device is lost?

If you don’t have a backup of your LockMyPix data folder or you have not saved a backup of your encrypted vault to your PC or on a cloud storage, your data will be lost. No one, including can access it. If you have backup, you can do the following steps

If you have backup of your encrypted data;

  • Install LockMyPix on your new device
  • Set the same pattern/password that

SSE – Secret Space Encryptor

Boxcryptor Ios Offline

Secret Space Encryptor is a bulletproof tool that can encrypt even a single file in more portable way. This app is available for both Windows and Android and if you encrypt a file or an entire directory on Android, you can decrypt it on Windows PC too. SSE is specially developed to secure highly sensitive data. You can encrypt any single file and you can put it anywhere, either on your cloud or any other device. All you need to decrypt it is to have SSE installed on the device and the password you have set for that file.

Boxcryptor Offline Access

But wait. This app is not meant for you if you are looking for a hidden gallery or a vault where you could browse your photos/ videos with thumbnail and other files using a single password unlock. SSE encrypts file/folders and they can’t be viewed until you decrypt those files. Even you can’t see a thumbnail without decryption. So, SSE provides a secure and pure form of encryption to protect any file with embedded encryption key in itself. No additional configuration file is required.