Guides/Journalism 2026
A privacy tool for journalists (2026 shortlist)
In 2026 the useful shortlist for journalists is short: Signal for messages, Tails or a hardened laptop for the machine, and something small and offline for files. Elba fills the last slot.
What Elba adds to a working kit
It seals a folder locally with AES-256-GCM. No account, no telemetry, no server. The whole program is one HTML file you can read.
What Elba is not
Not a messenger, not a VPN, not a disk-encryption tool. It is a fence around one folder on one machine. That's the whole feature.
Questions people actually ask
- Does it work on Tails?
- Tails ships with Chromium-based tools; Elba runs there. Always test in your specific setup before relying on it.
- Can the maker help law enforcement decrypt my folder?
- No. There is no key escrow. The password lives in your head.
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
- Secure file encryption for journalists (2026 guide)
A local, offline encryption tool for journalists: no cloud, no account, no telemetry. Seal notes and source files with a password.
- 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.
- File encryption for activists and organisers
A small, offline, no-account way for activists to seal sensitive files. Elba is one HTML file with no metadata trail.