How to encrypt a folder without installing any software

Option 1: what your OS gives you

Windows Pro has BitLocker To Go for USB drives; macOS has Disk Utility for encrypted DMGs; Linux has LUKS. These are excellent for whole-disk or whole-drive protection. For 'one folder inside my Documents', they are awkward, and BitLocker in particular requires admin rights.

Option 2: portable command-line tools

age, gpg, and 7-Zip all have portable builds you can run from a USB stick with no install. They are strong and free. The friction is the terminal — you need to remember flags, and 'encrypt this folder' becomes 'tar it, then pipe it to the tool, then delete the plaintext'.

Option 3: a single browser file

Every modern computer already has a Chromium-family browser with an audited AES-GCM implementation built in. A single HTML file can use that crypto to seal a folder, and it runs on any OS without installation or admin rights.

Elba is that file. You open it, drop a folder in, set a passphrase. It writes an encrypted bundle beside the folder. No setup, no service, no account.

Questions people actually ask

Does 'no install' also mean 'no admin rights'?

For Elba, yes — you only need a browser you already have. For BitLocker or FileVault, you typically need admin access to enable the feature.

Can I run Elba from a USB stick?

Yes. Copy the HTML file to the stick and open it from there. It carries nothing between machines.

Is there anything to uninstall later?

No. Delete the HTML file and it is gone. Nothing is written to your system.