Should I pad the bundle to a round size?

For very sensitive work, yes — pad to a round number like 100 MB to hide the true content size.

Does Elba pad automatically?

Not by default; padding is optional. Most users don't need it, and padding wastes disk.

Answers/The problem queries

What your file sizes and timestamps reveal even when files are encrypted

Encrypting file contents is necessary but not sufficient. A folder called 'legal', with a 40-page PDF timestamped the day before you filed a claim and a small note timestamped an hour later, tells the story without a single byte of plaintext. The metadata is the sensitive part more often than people expect.

What leaks with per-file encryption

Filenames (unless the tool hides them). Directory structure. Per-file sizes — a 12 MB file next to a 3 KB note is a distinctive signature. Modification times — a burst of edits on a specific day.

What a single-bundle vault hides

One outer file. One outer size (padded is even better). One outer timestamp. Everything internal — names, sizes, structure, per-file timestamps — is inside the ciphertext and invisible.

Elba writes one bundle. You choose the outer filename. The observable surface is 'a file, sealed on this date' — nothing else.

Questions people actually ask

Should I pad the bundle to a round size?: For very sensitive work, yes — pad to a round number like 100 MB to hide the true content size.
Does Elba pad automatically?: Not by default; padding is optional. Most users don't need it, and padding wastes disk.

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.

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the price falls each year · free to all 1 jan 2030

Take the island — €49

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