# VeraCrypt 45 Hacker News commenters recommended VeraCrypt and 18 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Free, open-source encryption for files, containers and drives, with hidden volumes and independent audits. Critics note hidden volumes can be detected and it is slow on SSDs. ## Why people recommend it - Encrypted containers for files (9 comments): "A VeraCrypt container or encrypted overlay filesystem are a significant performance and UX upgrade" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47143309)) "individuals who care about security and privacy put their shit on a Veracrypt drive somewhere else" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48131515)) "You can create secure inaccessible directories for files via Cryptomator or Veracrypt or similar." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48796357)) - Hidden volumes for plausible deniability (7 comments): "using a secondary secure container if you do intend to store that level of sensitive data (eg: VeraCrypt volume for plausible deniability)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46099356)) "for plausible deniability for forced password disclosure, you can use VeraCrypt hidden partitions" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47786819)) "Probably better just to use a veracrypt hidden volume, and preferably not a SSD." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48996053)) - Independently audited and trusted (5 comments): "Veracrypt was independently audited, even by German BSA and no serious problems were found." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48171436)) "It took a long time and two independent audits to establish trust in it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47687619)) "Seeing this kind of friction makes me more confident in VeraCrypt." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47687924)) - Open-source full-disk encryption (3 comments): "It seems like only open source solutions actually provide encryption, like LUKS and Veracrypt." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50326673)) "well-reviewed full-disk encryption alternatives such as VeraCrypt" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48169373)) "I would run VeraCrypt on your computer. The one exception." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48171413)) ## What people warn about - Hidden volumes can be detected (3 comments): "It just makes it really obvious which sectors are unused within your encrypted partition" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46740730)) "It relies upon your adversary not knowing about veracrypt's hidden volume." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49063931)) "By using Veracrypt you're already proving there could be a hidden volume" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49065577)) - Derived from compromised TrueCrypt (4 comments): "Don't be so sure. Veracrypt is a fork of Truecrypt, which was famously shuttered after security rumours started spreading" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48172591)) "Ever since the TrueCrypt fiasco years ago, I have no trust in that brand." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48169517)) "If TrueCrypt was compromised then it stands that VeraCrypt is as well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48170613)) - Slow on SSDs and NVMe (2 comments): "it appears to perform poorly on modern NVME devices due to inherent limitations in its TrueCrypt based architecture" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46791781)) "VeraCrypt is not optimized for SSDs and has a massive performance impact" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46739255)) - Developer lost driver licence (2 comments): "veracrypt lost their drivers license so afaik you should avoid it since it cannot update its drivers any longer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48764430)) "got their driver licence pulled afaik they cant update their program anymore" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48170274)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Microsoft BitLocker](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bitlocker.md): 45 recommend - [LUKS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/luks.md): 32 recommend - [TrueCrypt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/truecrypt.md): 9 recommend - [FileVault](https://hackerapproved.com/p/filevault.md): 8 recommend - [systemd-cryptenroll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/systemd-cryptenroll.md): 7 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "VeraCrypt", https://hackerapproved.com/p/veracrypt/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).