What if I lose the HTML file?

Redownload it — but also, any implementation of AES-256-GCM + PBKDF2 with the documented parameters can open your vaults after 2030.

Is the 2030 date really guaranteed?

It is written into the license itself and the source is already in the file you own. There is no button we can press to un-guarantee it.

Does this apply to VeraCrypt too?

Yes — VeraCrypt is open source and its format is public. Also a survivor.

Answers/The escape queries

What happens to your encrypted files when the company behind the app shuts down?

This is the question no privacy service wants to answer in writing. The short answer: your files survive only if (1) you can still run the software, (2) the format is documented, (3) no server is required to open them, and (4) a legal path exists to the source if the company vanishes. Most products fail at least two of those tests.

The four survival tests

Can you run it offline forever? A subscription client that phones home for a license check fails on day one after shutdown.

Is the format documented? A closed proprietary container is only openable by the company's own software.

Does opening require their server? Any 'log in to view' step means your files are hostage to their uptime.

Is there a legal escape hatch? Open source, source escrow, or a scheduled liberation clause turns 'the company closed' into an inconvenience, not a disaster.

How Elba was built to pass all four

The HTML file runs offline forever. The format is AES-256-GCM with PBKDF2 — standard primitives any cryptographer can implement in a day. It never contacts a server to open a file. And the license makes the source public on 1 January 2030 — even if the company is gone by then, your files stay readable.

Questions people actually ask

What if I lose the HTML file?: Redownload it — but also, any implementation of AES-256-GCM + PBKDF2 with the documented parameters can open your vaults after 2030.
Is the 2030 date really guaranteed?: It is written into the license itself and the source is already in the file you own. There is no button we can press to un-guarantee it.
Does this apply to VeraCrypt too?: Yes — VeraCrypt is open source and its format is public. Also a survivor.

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

Take the island — €49

pay once · no account · nothing leaves