Guides/Fundamentals
Encryption at rest vs in transit: which one Elba is
Encryption in transit protects data while it moves between two machines (HTTPS is the classic example). Encryption at rest protects data while it sits on disk. Elba does the second job, for one folder, with no assumption that the folder ever moves.
When to want which
Sending a file to a colleague? You want encryption in transit (and ideally end-to-end).
Keeping a folder on your laptop that must never be legible to a thief, an ex-employer, or a customs officer? You want encryption at rest.
Why Elba stays out of the ‘in transit’ business
Adding transit features means adding a server, and adding a server undoes the ‘never phones home’ promise. Elba stays small so it can stay honest.
Questions people actually ask
- Can I still send an Elba-sealed folder?
- Yes — the sealed bytes are safe to email or sync. The recipient needs Elba and the password to open it.
- Is HTTPS enough on its own?
- For moving a file, often. For a folder that sits on disk for years, no.
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
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- €19MMXXIX2029
- FreeMMXXX2030
the price falls each year · free to all 1 jan 2030
pay once · no account · nothing leavesRelated guides
- Local file encryption with no cloud, no account
Encrypt files locally on your own machine — no upload, no account, no server ever contacted. One HTML file, AES-256-GCM at rest.
- How to encrypt files in Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive safely
Seal the folder first, then sync it. A short recipe for using cloud storage without letting the cloud read your files.