Hi,
When I access my cloud storage vault (mounted in my file explorer) to e.g. look at photos, Cryptomator downloads all the pictures to my hard disk to decrypt. However, I realized that the data is not being removed from the hard disk, e.g. after rebooting. What can I do to make Cryptomator delete those temp files automatically? Or is there another way how I can access my Cryptomator vault on my cloud storage and the decryption is happening without downloading files permanently?
Thanks!!!
Hi.
Cryptomator desktop does not sync any data from/to your online storage. That’s the job of the sync client of your storage provider. What you are asking for is included in for example Google Drive or OneDrive and its call “File Stream” or “Files on demand”. If the client recognize that you didn’t use a file for quite a while, it does free up local space (or you can do it manually with the according function in the sync client).
If you want to access your vault online, you’ll have to mount your storage to your file explorer and thus bypass sync software.
as a new user, this answer is totally unclear to me. what do you mean by “If you want to access your vault online, you’ll have to mount your storage to your file explorer and thus bypass sync software.”? isnt this the way cm is used by definition?
cm takes a folder in dropbox or 1drive, encrypts it and when unlocked mounts it all the while only encrypted changes go back to the cloud. op complains that while unlocked, the decrypted stuff is still siting in temp and stays there. a very valid complaint. what is your answer? I just didnt undersantad and thank in advance for clarifying
Cryptomator Desktop does store the encrypted vault files on your local system. It does not store anything directly in a cloud storage. Thats why you dont need to enter cloud storage credentials anywhere in the app, and thats why cryptomator desktop is compatible with so many cloud storage providers. Because the sync to these providers is not done by cryptomator. Its done by the according apps like microsofts onedrive client, or googles backup & sync app, or the nexcloud app and so on.
So, if you do not want to use the storage providers sync app, or do not want to have the encrypted vault files stored on your local system, but have your encrypted vault stored in an online storage, you need an other way to make the transfer happen. And thats either 3rd party apps like cyberduck (access to your online vault) or rclone (mount online storage in your file explorer)
So, the files cryptomator creates are not temp files. These are the encrypted vault files (THE Vault), and as design they are stored anywhere where your local OS can reach them, waiting to be picked up by any kind of software that sync them to an online storage of your choice (if you want to). Or just stay local as a local encrypted container. They are not meant to be “cleared” by cryptomator after encryption. These files are your vault.
Please note: the mobile apps behave different than the desktop app. They can connect directly to an online storage. Ant thus you need to enter login credentials to a supoorted online storage provider in the mobile apps.
Thank you Michael, that clears it up. So just to confirm my understanding: the encrypted files in the vault folder must always remain on the local device (i.e. “Always keep on this device” in OneDrive / “Local” in Dropbox Smart Sync), and when the vault is locked, no decrypted data exists anywhere on disk - the decrypted content only lives in the virtual mounted drive while unlocked. Correct?
Correct.
What you see “in” you vault via the virtual drive is just an unencrypted view of your encrypted files in your vaults. Its not “actual” unencrypted files. If you want to decrypt them you’ll have to move them out of the vault.
Thanks a lot. Very helpful. Just a follow up question - my Cloud is mounted as an additional drive in my explorer. I put the cryptomator vault there. When I want to open a very large file (e.g. movie) from that mounted Cloud drive, I see that that the file is being downloaded to my hard drive first in order to decrypt it. As I use the Cloud as an extension of my storage of my hard drive I want to make sure that the downloaded file is being deleted to not take up space on my hard drive. How is the deletion of those temporary files ensured?
Housekeeping (aka deleting files that are not used for quite a while) is done by the storage provider app which does also the sync. You’ll have to configure it there. OneDrive is calling that files in demand I think, and google calls it filestream. Something like that.