VeraCrypt
Hacker ApprovedTied for most recommended of 7 disk encryptions
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.
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.
63 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 45
- criticize it
- 18
- approval share
- 71%
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: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 45 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.5 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
Encrypted containers for files
“A VeraCrypt container or encrypted overlay filesystem are a significant performance and UX upgrade”
Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “Why the KeePass format should be based on SQLite” “individuals who care about security and privacy put their shit on a Veracrypt drive somewhere else”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Microsoft BitLocker – YellowKey zero-day exploit” “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” - Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Flash media longevity testing – 6 years later”
- Comment from 19 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: An encrypted, local, cross-platform journaling app”
- Comment from 22 Dec 2025 in “The Going Dark initiative or ProtectEU is a Chat Control 3.0 attempt”
- Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Why the KeePass format should be based on SQLite”
- Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Lenovo's 'encrypted' fingerprint USB is just an unencrypted SD card in a case”
- Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Microsoft Abruptly Terminates VeraCrypt Account, Halting Windows Updates”
Hidden volumes for plausible deniability
“using a secondary secure container if you do intend to store that level of sensitive data (eg: VeraCrypt volume for plausible deniability)”
Comment from 30 Nov 2025 in “Bazzite: Operating System for Linux gaming” “for plausible deniability for forced password disclosure, you can use VeraCrypt hidden partitions”
Comment from 15 Apr 2026 in “Google Broke Its Promise to Me. Now ICE Has My Data” “Probably better just to use a veracrypt hidden volume, and preferably not a SSD.”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “My USB Drive Has a Hidden Encrypted Vault” - Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “My USB Drive Has a Hidden Encrypted Vault”
- Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “How to Keep ICE Agents Out of Your Devices at Airports”
- Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “US citizen charged after GrapheneOS phone wipes during airport search”
- Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “My USB Drive Has a Hidden Encrypted Vault”
Independently audited and trusted
“Veracrypt was independently audited, even by German BSA and no serious problems were found.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit” “It took a long time and two independent audits to establish trust in it.”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Veracrypt Project Update” “Seeing this kind of friction makes me more confident in VeraCrypt.”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Veracrypt Project Update” - Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Microsoft BitLocker – YellowKey zero-day exploit”
- Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Veracrypt Project Update”
Open-source full-disk encryption
“It seems like only open source solutions actually provide encryption, like LUKS and Veracrypt.”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Lenovo's 'encrypted' fingerprint USB is just an unencrypted SD card in a case” “well-reviewed full-disk encryption alternatives such as VeraCrypt”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit” “I would run VeraCrypt on your computer. The one exception.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Hidden volumes can be detected
“It just makes it really obvious which sectors are unused within your encrypted partition”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft gave FBI set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects' laptops” “It relies upon your adversary not knowing about veracrypt's hidden volume.”
Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “US citizen charged after GrapheneOS phone wipes during airport search” “By using Veracrypt you're already proving there could be a hidden volume”
Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “US citizen charged after GrapheneOS phone wipes during airport search” Derived from compromised TrueCrypt
“Don't be so sure. Veracrypt is a fork of Truecrypt, which was famously shuttered after security rumours started spreading”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit” “Ever since the TrueCrypt fiasco years ago, I have no trust in that brand.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit” “If TrueCrypt was compromised then it stands that VeraCrypt is as well.”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit” - Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft gave FBI set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects' laptops”
Slow on SSDs and NVMe
“it appears to perform poorly on modern NVME devices due to inherent limitations in its TrueCrypt based architecture”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Encrypt your PC's disk without giving the keys to Microsoft” “VeraCrypt is not optimized for SSDs and has a massive performance impact”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft gave FBI set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects' laptops” Developer lost driver licence
“veracrypt lost their drivers license so afaik you should avoid it since it cannot update its drivers any longer”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Since Linux 6.9, LUKS suspend stopped wiping disk-encryption keys from memory” “got their driver licence pulled afaik they cant update their program anymore”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit”
Other disk encryptions people recommend
The four most recommended other disk encryptions, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VeraCryptThis page | 45 | 18 | 71% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Microsoft BitLocker | 45 | 115 | 28% | 8 | 10.7 yrs3 owners | — |
| LUKS | 32 | 6 | 84% | 13 | — | Approved |
| TrueCrypt | 9 | 7 | 56% | 6 | — | — |
| FileVault | 8 | 9 | 47% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 76 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It seems like only open source solutions actually provide encryption, like LUKS and Veracrypt.”
“Just use veracrypt or ecrypt on any memory card”
“something similar to trucrypt / veracrypt, in which multiple passcodes can unlock different sections”
“By using Veracrypt you're already proving there could be a hidden volume”
“It relies upon your adversary not knowing about veracrypt's hidden volume.”
“VeraCrypt has a cool function which is a reserved space for a decoy OS.”
“Hidden volumes. This is an old and well-solved problem set.”
“A Veracrypt hidden volume is useful in the former situation, but not the latter.”
“Probably better just to use a veracrypt hidden volume, and preferably not a SSD.”
“You can create secure inaccessible directories for files via Cryptomator or Veracrypt or similar.”
“it was resolved within a few days. The incident being resolved just didn't make headlines.”
“veracrypt lost their drivers license so afaik you should avoid it since it cannot update its drivers any longer”
“Don't be so sure. Veracrypt is a fork of Truecrypt, which was famously shuttered after security rumours started spreading”
“Veracrypt was independently audited, even by German BSA and no serious problems were found.”
“I would run VeraCrypt on your computer. The one exception.”
“If TrueCrypt was compromised then it stands that VeraCrypt is as well.”
“got their driver licence pulled afaik they cant update their program anymore”
“Ever since the TrueCrypt fiasco years ago, I have no trust in that brand.”
“well-reviewed full-disk encryption alternatives such as VeraCrypt”
“that actually increases my confidence that VeraCrypt is secure”
“individuals who care about security and privacy put their shit on a Veracrypt drive somewhere else”
“for plausible deniability for forced password disclosure, you can use VeraCrypt hidden partitions”
“But I still like it for containers”
“Both of you are developing some of the most important software that exists today.”
“Atleast now I'm a bit more certain that VC is indeed safe.”
“Seeing this kind of friction makes me more confident in VeraCrypt.”
“It took a long time and two independent audits to establish trust in it.”
“Veracrypt has the ability to create hidden partitions, regardless of OS.”
“If privacy is your primary problem with cloud storage, I would suggest veracrypt containers.”
“you might as well use a purpose built encryption container tool”
“A VeraCrypt container or encrypted overlay filesystem are a significant performance and UX upgrade”
“For simplicity, I'd use gocryptfs, Veracrypt, or other general file-based encryption”
“it appears to perform poorly on modern NVME devices due to inherent limitations in its TrueCrypt based architecture”
“It just makes it really obvious which sectors are unused within your encrypted partition”
“they knew truecrypt/veracrypt to be irrepairably compromised”
“VeraCrypt is not optimized for SSDs and has a massive performance impact”
“This is by far one of the best advertisements for LUKS/VeraCrypt I've ever seen.”
“I'd recommend downloading software like Signal, Session, VeraCrypt, etc.”
“using a secondary secure container if you do intend to store that level of sensitive data (eg: VeraCrypt volume for plausible deniability)”
“you'll need to re-upload the entire encrypted file--usually quite large--every time you change anything at all”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.