Cryptomator
Hacker ApprovedRanked 5 of 7 encryption tools by recommenders
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.
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.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 90%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Encrypts files on any cloud storage
“cross platform, GPL'd, encrypted overlay filesystem which you can put anything in, not just markdown docs”
Comment from 25 Feb 2026 in “Why the KeePass format should be based on SQLite” “you can use a public cloud with Cryptomator on top if you don’t trust your password DB on a non E2E cloud”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Bitwarden CLI Compromised in Ongoing Checkmarx Supply Chain” “"Dropbox + Cryptomator" is literally the best option I still have”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Umbrel – Personal Cloud” - Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Stop paying for Dropbox/Google Drive, use your own S3 bucket instead”
Transparent use with phone filesystems
“It works transparently, and has clients for Mac/Windows as well as iOS/Android.”
Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “Time to start de-Appling” “their mobile apps integrate well into the phone filesystems”
Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “Time to start de-Appling” Recommended for secure, inaccessible directories
“You can create secure inaccessible directories for files via Cryptomator or Veracrypt or similar.”
Comment from 5 Jul 2026 in “Rayfish, Peer-to-peer mesh VPN with no server to trust” “it should be handled by a dedicated app like Cryptomater”
Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “Bookshelf – Self-hosted eBook library that runs on object storage” Reduces legal and technical access to files
“It takes away a lot of legal questions because I only need to curate the data to serve my own needs”
Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “Bookshelf – Self-hosted eBook library that runs on object storage” “this encryption is a significant additional barrier to technical or legal access to those files”
Comment from 1 Oct 2026 in “Cops Can Bypass iPhone's Automatic Reboot to Get into Locked Phones”
Other encryption tools people recommend
The four most recommended other encryption tools, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| age encryption tool | 49 | 12 | 80% | 11 | — | Approved |
| GnuPG | 40 | 46 | 47% | 8 | — | — |
| PGP | 38 | 48 | 44% | 12 | 25 yrs3 owners | — |
| GPG | 23 | 29 | 44% | 11 | — | — |
| CryptomatorThis page | 18 | 2 | 90% | 10 | — | Approved |
What people said
18 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Much security is poorly implemented; you can't count on it being effective.”
“this encryption is a significant additional barrier to technical or legal access to those files”
“Apple users in the UK who are concerned about this may want to switch to something like Cryptomator”
“it should be handled by a dedicated app like Cryptomater”
“cryptomator seems super cool and I had not heard of it until reading your comment”
“It takes away a lot of legal questions because I only need to curate the data to serve my own needs”
“You can create secure inaccessible directories for files via Cryptomator or Veracrypt or similar.”
“you can use a public cloud with Cryptomator on top if you don’t trust your password DB on a non E2E cloud”
“You could run something like Cryptomator on top of Dropbox”
“I like Cryptomator's solution: donate to get a pretty banner.”
“cross platform, GPL'd, encrypted overlay filesystem which you can put anything in, not just markdown docs”
“It also does not depend on a centralized config file, so encrypted files can be moved, added, or removed independently without breaking anything”
“For instance, tools such as https://cryptomator.org comes to mind.”
“Isn’t what Cryptomator stand for ?”
“I now use Cryptomator (because key destruction matters)”
“"Dropbox + Cryptomator" is literally the best option I still have”
“their mobile apps integrate well into the phone filesystems”
“It works transparently, and has clients for Mac/Windows as well as iOS/Android.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.