# Cryptomator

18 Hacker News commenters recommended Cryptomator and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a free, open-source way to encrypt files stored in Dropbox or other cloud services, with apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.

## Why people recommend it

- Encrypts files on any cloud storage (4 comments): "cross platform, GPL'd, encrypted overlay filesystem which you can put anything in, not just markdown docs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47148033)) "you can use a public cloud with Cryptomator on top if you don’t trust your password DB on a non E2E cloud" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47877144)) ""Dropbox + Cryptomator" is literally the best option I still have" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46286296))
- Transparent use with phone filesystems (2 comments): "It works transparently, and has clients for Mac/Windows as well as iOS/Android." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45886834)) "their mobile apps integrate well into the phone filesystems" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45889551))
- Recommended for secure, inaccessible directories (2 comments): "You can create secure inaccessible directories for files via Cryptomator or Veracrypt or similar." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48796357)) "it should be handled by a dedicated app like Cryptomater" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49435141))
- Reduces legal and technical access to files (2 comments): "It takes away a lot of legal questions because I only need to curate the data to serve my own needs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49428851)) "this encryption is a significant additional barrier to technical or legal access to those files" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49922872))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [age encryption tool](https://hackerapproved.com/p/age.md): 49 recommend
- [GnuPG](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gnupg.md): 40 recommend
- [PGP](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pgp.md): 38 recommend
- [GPG](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gpg.md): 23 recommend
- [Sequoia PGP](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sequoia-pgp.md): 12 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Cryptomator", https://hackerapproved.com/p/cryptomator/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).