Answers/The problem queries
How to keep a private folder on a computer your family also uses
A separate user account is the first move — it gives you file-permission separation. But the family often knows the password to the family account, kids share accounts, and 'switch user' is a step nobody takes to look up a recipe. The reliable answer is a folder that is unreadable to everyone until a passphrase only you know is typed in.
Why account separation is not enough
The admin on the machine can reset your password, boot from a USB, or simply read the disk. Even with strong account discipline, one shared login habit and the fence is gone. Encryption at rest survives all of that.
A shared-computer setup that actually holds
Keep one folder — 'private' or whatever unassuming name — sealed at all times. Open your browser, load Elba, type the passphrase to unseal it. Do what you need. Re-seal before you walk away.
Elba works in any Chromium browser on the family laptop, needs no install, and leaves nothing behind after the tab closes.
Questions people actually ask
- What if a family member sees the HTML file?
- There is nothing to hide there — it is the encryption tool, not the secrets. Without your passphrase it is useless to them.
- Can the browser remember my passphrase?
- No, and Elba deliberately does not offer to. If you want to reduce typing, use a long passphrase you can remember.
Take the island
Elba is one HTML file. It runs locally in a Chromium browser, seals a folder with AES-256-GCM, never phones home, and becomes open source on 1 January 2030.
- €49MMXXVI· now ·
- €39MMXXVII2027
- €29MMXXVIII2028
- €19MMXXIX2029
- FreeMMXXX2030
the price falls each year · free to all 1 jan 2030
pay once · no account · nothing leavesRelated answers
- Encrypted notes app that works without signing up for anything
You don't need an account to keep private notes on your own laptop. Any text editor plus a single-file vault is enough.