Nextcloud Desktop Client Gets End-to-End Encryption, New User Interface

Nextcloud Desktop Client

Nextcloud GmbH announces today the general availability of version 3.0 of the Nextcloud Desktop Client as an important milestone that finally implements enterprise-grade E2EE (end-to-end encryption) technology.

End-to-end encryption is probably one of the most requested features in Nextcloud, the most popular on-premises file share and collaboration platform. With the release of Nextcloud Desktop Client 3.0, Nextcloud has become the first vendor to offer an enterprise-grade end-to-end encryption solution designed with file sync and share in mind.

Thanks to end-to-end encryption, users no longer need to manually exchange encryption keys, share large encrypted volumes or long and complex passwords when share files securely. Nextcloud’s solution works on a per-folder level to ensure local encryption of all files and features a fully secure key management system with Cryptographic Identity Protection in the form of server-signed certificates.

On top of that, Nextcloud’s end-to-end encryption solution promises enterprise features like a complete audit log, support for a secure hardware security module (HSM) to generate new identities for users, as well as an optional offline administrator recovery key.

“Nextcloud is first to market with an integrated, secure technology to keep a subset of highly sensitive files cryptographically secure even in the worst case of an undetected, full server breach,” explains Roeland Douma, Security lead at Nextcloud.

Best of all, the end-to-end encryption in Nextcloud works across all clients on the desktop (Linux, Mac and Windows) and mobile (Android and iOS). But, since this is the first implementation, sharing between users doesn’t work. This feature will be available starting with version 2.0 of Nextcloud’s end-to-end encryption protocol. 

For the tech-savvy reader, Nextcloud has published a white paper with all the technical details on their end-to-end encryption solution, which can be studied at https://nextcloud.com/endtoend. You can also see a preview of Nextcloud’s end-to-end encryption below.

Nextcloud Desktop Client

Apart from the end-to-end encryption, Nextcloud Desktop Client 3.0 also comes with a new user interface that integrates deeply with Nextcloud Hub, a complete on-premises content collaboration platform, to make it easier for users to access the Nextcloud apps, the sharing settings of a file, and to add a note for the recipient of a file in the share dialog.

Moreover, right-clicking on a document in the file manager will let users edit that file directly in Nextcloud’s online office document editor. The system tray icon now also gives you a list of events on the server.

The Nextcloud Android Client has been updated as well today with support for end-to-end encryption, as well as dark mode improvements, and a revamped user interface that now follows the latest Android design guidelines. The new UI includes a floating search bar on top with quick access to the user profile.

Nextcloud Desktop Client 3.0 is available for download right now from the official website as an AppImage for Linux-based operating systems, making its installation a breeze. Arch Linux, Fedora and openSUSE Tumbleweed users will be able to install it from their distro’s repositories, while the source code is available on GitHub.

Last updated 4 years ago

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