Guides/Activism
File encryption for activists and organisers
Activists need tools with no metadata trail — nothing that ties a folder to a person or an organisation. Elba is a single HTML file with no account, no telemetry, and no server.
The ‘no receipts’ property
Elba does not check a license, does not identify you, and does not phone home. There is nothing on the maker's side that could be produced if requested.
Combine with the rest of the kit
Signal for comms, Tails or a hardened laptop for the machine, and Elba for the specific folder of files that need to stay sealed at rest.
Questions people actually ask
- Can the maker be forced to help decrypt a folder?
- No — the maker never sees your files or your key. There is no capability to compel.
- Is it OK on Tails?
- Elba runs in Chromium-family browsers; test in your specific Tails setup before relying on it in the field.
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 guides
- How to encrypt files in countries with heavy censorship
Offline file encryption where the network is watched. Elba is a single HTML file — no downloads at runtime, no network calls, no server.
- Digital self-defence tools: a short, practical shelf
Small tools that raise the cost of surveillance without changing your life. A practical shelf, with Elba as the local-encryption piece.
- A privacy tool for journalists (2026 shortlist)
One-file, offline privacy tool for journalists in 2026. No accounts, no telemetry, no server ever contacted. Elba, explained briefly.