What if IT policy forbids third-party software?

An HTML file is a document, not an installed program. Most policies distinguish. When in doubt, ask IT — the answer is often 'yes, that's fine'.

Can IT still open the sealed folder?

No — even IT cannot read the ciphertext without your passphrase.

Answers/The professional queries

A confidential folder for HR documents on a company laptop

HR keeps material that is confidential on multiple levels — from the employee to the manager, from the manager to the rest of the team, from all of them to the wider org. IT owns the disk, so drive-level encryption is their problem. Folder-level encryption, on top, is how you keep even legitimate machine access from becoming a discretion violation.

What's usually in this folder

Draft PIPs, exit paperwork, salary bands, medical accommodations, complaints in progress. All of it needs to be reachable to you and only you (or your specific HR peer), during the time you're actively working on it.

The setup on a managed laptop

Elba is one HTML file — no install, no admin rights, no browser extension. Approved software policies rarely block 'open a downloaded HTML file'. Seal the folder, work in it, re-seal when done.

Questions people actually ask

What if IT policy forbids third-party software?: An HTML file is a document, not an installed program. Most policies distinguish. When in doubt, ask IT — the answer is often 'yes, that's fine'.
Can IT still open the sealed folder?: No — even IT cannot read the ciphertext without your passphrase.

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

Take the island — €49

pay once · no account · nothing leaves