Cryptee is a private Google Docs or Evernote that works in the cloud. It also has private photo storage for those not wanting to trust Google, Facebook, or others with their data. Let’s take a look and see what how it works.
Background Info on Cryptee
Cryptee launched in 2018 and is developed by mostly John Ozbay. Not satisfied with working standard software jobs in New York where he was an immigrant, he decided to build his start up in the European country of Estonia.
The Cryptee service is a web app that can be accessed and launched in any web browser or on any mobile device. All the data is encrypted (AES-256), meaning no one has access to your data but you, not even the developers.
Pros and Cons of Cryptee
Some people might be satisfied with online services from Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. Others might not have any idea how insecure or loose companies are with their data. Here are some of the things that Cryptee offers.
Free and Paid
All users have 100 MB of free storage, which is quite generous if you’re using the service as a Google Docs replacement. This is a great way to get accustomed to the service and decide if you want to continue with it or not. I have a feeling that people buying additional storage are most likely doing it for photos and PDF storage.
Should you want to go all in and make Cryptee your ultimate secure cloud space, the pricing is affordable for the amount of storage that you get. There are monthly and yearly options for those that need flexibility.
Extremely Private
The developer has gone to great lengths to offer a very private and encrypted service. One nice thing that can be seen upfront is making an account only requires a username. That’s it, no phone number or email address.
Ghost Folders
This is a really great feature for those seeking plausible deniability. With ghost folders, you can hide a folder and the only way to get it to show up in your file list is by searching the exact name.
Login and Encryption key
I haven’t looked too much into solving this issue, but one step that makes Cryptee slightly less smooth to use is the required login user id and password plus the extra encryption password. Not a deal breaker, but it is cumbersome and feels like I have to “login” twice.
It’s cross platform, but…
Cryptee works in your web browser (Chrome, Brave, Edge, etc.), so it should work everywhere. While using a web app to have cross compatibility is wonderful, I often felt myself wishing for native apps on iOS and Android. This is especially true for someone like me that would like to use Cryptee as an Evernote replacement. I don’t want to have to go through a “web app” shortcut on my home screen and would prefer a dedicated app.
When contacted about the lack of true native mobile apps, the developer acknowledged that it is something he wants to do, but there are complications with Google and Apple’s app stores that prevent him from doing the development.
Final Thoughts on Cryptee
Over all, I’d say the developer has done a great job at making an easy to use service that can store documents and photos. It’s constantly evolving and the developer is very active on Reddit answering any questions people may have.
If you’re looking to have a private cloud for your documents and photos, I’d say it’s worth checking out and seeing if you can adapt it for your use case.
Link: Download it!
Hey Bryan. Really grateful for your blog. Thanks for giving your voice of reason to the world. Powerusers go all the way!!!!!