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Suggestion for E2E encrypted self-hosted file storage app
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Suggestion for E2E encrypted self-hosted file storage app

FAT32FAT32 Administrator, Deal Compiler Extraordinaire

TLDR: Basically the title says it all

Features: self-hosted, mobile app (Android), thumbnail preview, e2e encryption


Hi guys, I think this topic had been discussed quite a few times here but I don't see anyone mentioned about the security.

So here is my use case, I would like to allow family members who are not good in tech to retrieve files easily from their phone, and most of the time videos and photos. Therefore, a simple to use interface that can preview thumbnails will be great and enough.

I can code it myself but too busy with other things so don't have the time for it. (And I still have to fix bugs etc, where there might already have projects that is battle-tested)

Google Drive is easy and app are one of the best but hey, I don't think I will provide free data for them to analyze and train their AI.


Here are some solution that I had found:

Nextcloud - Looks great, e2e encryption coming in next version next month, but seems too heavy (I believe the more complex an app is, the more bug it should have), a lightweight solution should work

Seafile - Have not really looked into it yet because I try not to use China app (no offence, but most Chinese app I used have too much bloatware), the e2e encryption seems to be implemented for few years already so looks more promising

Cryptomator - Some reviews on Play Store are negative (File cannot be unlocked), no thumbnail previews available (since it is client-side only). It looks lightweight and balanced between normal and advance user.

Pydio - Android app is obsolete, latest version is more than 2 years old.


Any suggestions or comments? Thanks!

Best E2E encrypted self-hosted app?
  1. Best E2E encrypted self-hosted app?23 votes
    1. Nextcloud
      39.13%
    2. Seafile
      43.48%
    3. Cryptomator
      13.04%
    4. Why not code it yourself?
        4.35%

Comments

  • By E2E you mean the data being encryption happens on the client?

  • FAT32FAT32 Administrator, Deal Compiler Extraordinaire

    @mksh said:
    By E2E you mean the data being encryption happens on the client?

    Yes, as long as no one else can read the data even with root access on the server. (Hence end to end, encryption and decryption happens on client side)

  • mkshmksh Member
    edited December 2017

    @FAT32 said:

    @mksh said:
    By E2E you mean the data being encryption happens on the client?

    Yes, as long as no one else can read the data even with root access on the server. (Hence end to end, encryption and decryption happens on client side)

    OK, guessed so. Was a bit confused as in this case both ends is probably the same client. Tricky question... I've looked around for something like this too and imo all the common sharing scripts suck. They are way to bloated for my taste and you seem not exactly fond of bloat too but then you have novice users who need something simple that should also work on a phone. Hard to make a good suggestion. If you have the abilities i'd say develop your own app.

  • 6ixth6ixth Member
    edited December 2017

    I use something called BoxCryptor & Google Drive. The file is encrypted and then put onto Google Drive with random names and file types. They have a phone app for both iOS & Android and when you login, it decrypts all the file names, types etc etc. (E2E).

    Works well for me.

  • hackermanhackerman Member
    edited December 2017

    Nextcloud 13 does support this, however it is still in beta. Interface and integration is excellent.

    Thanked by 1WebProject
  • seafiles?

  • FAT32FAT32 Administrator, Deal Compiler Extraordinaire

    @mksh said:

    OK, guessed so. Was a bit confused as in this case both ends is probably the same client. Tricky question... I've looked around for something like this too and imo all the common sharing scripts suck. They are way to bloated for my taste and you seem not exactly fond of bloat too but then you have novice users who need something simple that should also work on a phone. Hard to make a good suggestion. If you have the abilities i'd say develop your own app.

    I would like to but don't have the time, I would say the most lightweight is Cryptomator as it is just plain and simple and also compatible with any storage options including Google Drive

    @6ixth said:
    I use something called BoxCryptor & Google Drive. The file is encrypted and then put onto Google Drive with random names and file types. They have a phone app for both iOS & Android and when you login, it decrypts all the file names, types etc etc. (E2E).

    Works well for me.

    BoxCryptor looks good but the free version is somehow limited, paid version is slightly expensive I think since that cost doesn't include any storage

    @hackerman said:
    Nextcloud 13 does support this, however it is still in beta. Interface and integration is excellent.

    Did you tried the beta version? Any issues you encountered that caused data to be corrupted or unable to decrypt? (The nightmare of encryption is locked by my own)

    @qtwrk said:
    seafiles?

    It actually looks promising, I haven't install it though but the minimum requirement of 2GB RAM scared me (Most Storage VPS is lower than this), it doesn't seems to be written in Java but I don't know why it required that amount of RAM

  • @FAT32 said:

    @mksh said:

    OK, guessed so. Was a bit confused as in this case both ends is probably the same client. Tricky question... I've looked around for something like this too and imo all the common sharing scripts suck. They are way to bloated for my taste and you seem not exactly fond of bloat too but then you have novice users who need something simple that should also work on a phone. Hard to make a good suggestion. If you have the abilities i'd say develop your own app.

    I would like to but don't have the time, I would say the most lightweight is Cryptomator as it is just plain and simple and also compatible with any storage options including Google Drive

    @6ixth said:
    I use something called BoxCryptor & Google Drive. The file is encrypted and then put onto Google Drive with random names and file types. They have a phone app for both iOS & Android and when you login, it decrypts all the file names, types etc etc. (E2E).

    Works well for me.

    BoxCryptor looks good but the free version is somehow limited, paid version is slightly expensive I think since that cost doesn't include any storage

    @hackerman said:
    Nextcloud 13 does support this, however it is still in beta. Interface and integration is excellent.

    Did you tried the beta version? Any issues you encountered that caused data to be corrupted or unable to decrypt? (The nightmare of encryption is locked by my own)

    @qtwrk said:
    seafiles?

    It actually looks promising, I haven't install it though but the minimum requirement of 2GB RAM scared me (Most Storage VPS is lower than this), it doesn't seems to be written in Java but I don't know why it required that amount of RAM

    Ah, I abused a promotion they were running and ended up with like 3 years for free lul.

  • I accidentally voted for cryptomator instead of seafile (fat finger+mobile)

    Seafile on on a LUKS crypted zvol on proxmox dedi is my solution.(zvol for another level of snapshot rollbacks)

    If you're fine with just the E2E implementation in userspace, get hosted seafile from our trusty Prometeus (uncle sal and mao) for very low rate per GB now.

  • I thought seafile is german?

  • hackermanhackerman Member
    edited December 2017

    @FAT32 said:

    @hackerman said:
    Nextcloud 13 does support this, however it is still in beta. Interface and integration is excellent.

    Did you tried the beta version? Any issues you encountered that caused data to be corrupted or unable to decrypt? (The nightmare of encryption is locked by my own)

    I have tried it, and it works great. However they do not recommend running beta in production simply because the encryption in future editions may change and leave your files locked up. The roadmap for Nextcloud suggests that it should be released in Jan 2018: https://github.com/nextcloud/server/wiki/Maintenance-and-Release-Schedule.

    The milestones page shows 95% completion: https://github.com/nextcloud/server/milestones

    I would wait until Nextcloud 13. There's no due date, so release could be well after Jan 2018.

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