Cryptomator 2.0 for iOS: Open Source and Beta Release

[cryptobot]

Finally, the time has come! 🎉 The brand new iOS app of Cryptomator can now be tried out in a beta version via TestFlight and the project is now, as previously announced, fully open-source! This means that the entire Cryptomator family is now open-source, consisting of the Desktop, Android, and iOS versions.

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://cryptomator.org/blog/2021/06/30/ios-2.0-beta/

[629a768c]

Awesome! I’ve been waiting for native integration with the files app ever since the development of V2 was announced
Super stoked to try this out! Danke schön!
I hope this isn’t going to corrupt my data at some point, but there’s no way I’m not using this beta exclusively from now on. (I’ll be sure to have backups)

[techbeginner]

Great news!

I‘m thrilled to test the new iOS app, though the first contact confuses me. Opening a Cryptomator Vault and having shown the content outside the Cryptomator (but files) app feels like „What? How can the data be properly encrypted like this?“.

But I‘m sure, testing the Beta will enlighten me…

[NjectCreed]

I love Cryptomator.

Thank you for this update, this is just awesome! Already supported your App to get the dark mode on windows

Stay healthy,
-Creed

[Uriano]

Hello people,
Thanks so much for this upgrade, so far it works perfectly with the integration into files app, I am able to use it with no big issues on iPhone and iPad.

A first thing I noticed is about vaults-in-vaults, and I submitted a TestFlight feedback. It seems there is an error when trying to open vaults located inside other vaults (by picking their location in the file picker through the new Cryptomator location along iCoud Drive / Local Files on iOS/iPadOS.

I wonder if this is just a bug or a feature not yet supported (or never will be? )

Thanks again and looking forward to your response or feedback…

[Michael]

I cannot recommend a vault inside a vault.
You gain not more security with that, but a lack of performance and stability.

Any issues with storing a vault inside a vault?

Theoretically, it’s possible to store a vault inside a vault. However, I wouldn’t recommend it because it has a significant impact on performance. And it also won’t work with iOS because there is no workflow for that. Since the passwords are already different, I would just put the vaults next to each other. I understand what you’re trying to achieve (similar to two-factor) but this isn’t possible with Cryptomator. Related discussion is here (and this one might also be interesting).

[Uriano]

Thanks for your thoughts. This setup was already working for a long while now on Desktops. If your inner-vault is just for short-time super-secure copies, and is not kept open for a long time, I see no real impact on performance.

I would like to know more precisely what you mean by “won’t work with iOS because there is no workflow for that”. Do you mean this technically because of iOS limitations (at a first glance I don’t see this being the case) or because cryptomator has no plans of integrating this option?

Thanks and again, great job!

[tobihagemann]

Oh, my post was about the old app. The new app should be able to do that. However, I tried that out yesterday and it doesn’t seem to work yet. We’ll have to look into it!

[Uriano]

Thank you. If it helps, there’s an error which I got and I submitted it via the TestFlight. Error is The operation couldn’t be completed. (Cryptomator.OpenExistingLocalVault-ViewModelError error 0.)

Just to make sure we’re on the same page, I used Cryptomator 2 iOS beta - TestFlight and both my inner and outer vaults are using the latest format 8.

[raylv]

I can’t open Cryptorator for Google Drive because the app is not optimized for Google Drive’s FaceID.
Only when I turn off the FaceID function on Google Drive everything works properly

[Michael]

Your screenshot is showing the google drive folder in the files app. This is not cryptomator, its google. You have to open the cryptomator app, connect to your gdrive account, open the vault and then you’ll see the vault (that is stored in your gdrive account) as new “folder” in files app.
Works like a charm with google drive.

And yes, the integration of google drive into files app is really poor . One more reason to only use it with cryptomator.

[raylv]

Can you guide me to transfer files from Google Drive via Cryptomator on iOS?

[Michael]

1. open Cryptomator app
2. add new or existing vault
3. select google drive
4. enter google drive credentials
5. select existing vault or select folder where you want to create new vault
6. enter password for existing vault or set name and password for new vault
7. open vault
8. goto iOS files App and select vault.
   Now you see the files in your vault.

If you want to transfer your unencrypted google files into a vault on google drive (with iOS), you have to do it via the gdrive app (due to Google’s poor files app integration).
Open the Google Drive app, select the file you want to transfer, select „send copy“, select „copy“ to copy the file to clipboard, open files app, select vault, tap and hold at an empty area and select „Paste“ to store the file in the vault.

[raylv]

I did it. I appreciate your help

[user20529]

This has been absolutely amazing. I can safely start recommending this app to all my Apple friends.

Just some bugs I’ve noticed. If you try to drag and drop multiple files that are each over 100 MBs The files will say waiting and eventually will never upload. I solved this issue by deleting the folder. And then uploading the files individually. They took a while to upload but they did eventually show up.
One other small bug that I noticed is that in order for the folder I’m in to update after I’ve uploaded some thing new to it I need to exit the folder and go back into it. Even with these two small bugs Cryptomator just got even more useful on iOS/IPadOS. And it will definitely become my daily driver.

I hope to see support for tagging in the future and possibly allowing support for the iOS/IPadOS app to run natively on M1 Macs. It can take advantage of the new file provider apis that I hear are supposed to be exactly like the iOS/IPadOS versions. This is coming in macOS Monterey. Either way this file app integration is definitely going to future proof Cryptomator if Apple does decide to add even more features to file app.

Your team shows that you absolutely can balance privacy as well as functionality with the devices that you already have including Apple devices. Thank you so very much.

[Michael]

@user20529

I hope to see support for tagging in the future

With this beta you should already have the option to tag files via finder app

[user20529]

The option is there but it doesn’t work. When you tag the document and tap done. It doesn’t save the tag.

[Michael]

Ups, sorry. Didn’t notice that

[Uriano]

Hello Tobi,
I am writing back just to ask out of curiosity if you had a chance to look into the vault-inside-vault thing I mentioned at the beginning of the month? My Testflight builds have not been updated so I assume no new version was pushed, but I am still curious if you have any thoughts on the issue.
Thanks a bunch!

[tobihagemann]

We mostly worked on bug fixes in the last couple of weeks and are almost done with new features like “Unlock via Touch ID / Face ID”. Hopefully there will be an update this week! But I don’t have an update on the vault-inside-vault issue yet. We’ll definitely look into it because that’s something that should “just work” and also impacts third-party apps. But if it doesn’t (and only if we find out that it’s technically impossible, which would surprise me), we may have to disable Cryptomator as almost every “Other File Provider” is greyed out.