File still readable on Google Drive (Windows 10)

First, I would like to say I am very grateful for the software. In today’s world, CM is past a luxury; it is a necessity.

Having said that, I have seen numerous videos and read some instructions (including from the official Cryptomator channel and website) on how to use the software. I followed steps to a T, only to be able to still see and edit on my Google Drive account a pasted file (.docx) from another folder to the vault I had created with CM.

I understand that the software encrypts a file newly created in the vault, but being able to read a copied-and-pasted file’s name, content, and, why, edit it on Google Drive after having encrypted it just defeats the purpose of the software.

Could anyone pray just help me here?

Many thanks from a fan.

Phil

If you can read the file name and edit the file on Google Drive, then it is not encrypted.
Please make sure that you place your file in your local vault, and the local vault has to be synced via Google Backup and sync client.
Please make sure also that if you already have unencrypted files in your Google Drive, then you have to move them into your vault (not copy paste, because this will left an unencrypted copy of your file)

Please see the documentation also.

Well… I had a similar bug.
I copied several photos into the vault on my local Ubuntu. They are shown in the vault but they also appear in plaintext in vault_folder/d/A2/3CZH3AYVCIO67***************/Bilder. Consequently they are synced in plaintext as well.
This does not happen to all Files, just some.

And I don’t understand why. I certainly did not sort them into a folder with random digits :smiley: So somehow the CM client did that
Please tell me what went wrong…

Hi, Michael. Thanks for your quick response and tips.

I had done everything you told me. For some reason I can still see and edit the document on my Google Drive. As mentioned in the previous message, I followed the instructions in the documentation and also on videos. They all state the same, which is, in all honesty, pretty straightforward. But for some reason it’s not working for me. Is there anything I should or could do to fix the issue?

Thanks once more for your help.

Oh, and just to clarify: I downloaded all the content from my Google Drive to my PC before placing them in the vault. I certainly did not just copy and paste on the Drive. I did all the copy-paste on my laptop, as suggested by the resources I’d read.

Hi. Please keep in mind, that Cryptomator does not do the sync of files (also not of the encrypted files) to your online storage. So if you are sure that you have removed the unencrypted content from your online storage, and moved it into your vault, then please check your used sync tool why it keeps syncing unencrypted files to your online storage.
Cryptomator vault files (the encrypted files you want to sync with your online storage) cannot be decrypted during upload by the sync client. That’s just not possible.

Hi, Michael. Thanks again for your help.

I will be frank with you: I don’t know what to check in the sync tool that I’m using because I’m using Google’s Backup and Sync. And it’s that latest version. I have been following the exact steps stated on Cryptomator’s website and other websites/tutorial videos I have seen (they all state the same). And in all honesty Cryptomator is pretty straightforward to use anyway.

Cryptomator vault files (the encrypted files you want to sync with your online storage) cannot be decrypted during upload by the sync client. That’s just not possible. - I don’t think that Google’s Backup and Sync is able to read the name and content of the encrypted file: the issue is that the file is not being encrypted in the first place.

But I’ll still ask you: do yo have any suggestion on what I could check with Google’s sync tool?

I once more appreciate your help. Thanks a lot for your support.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Phil

Please check what that tool is exactly syncing. I doubt that is syncing your encrypted vault files, but instead is syncing your unencrypted files outside the vault.
You have to make sure, that the local folder that is containing your encrypted vault files is part of the sync process, and if you do not want your unencrypted files to be synced anymore, you have to make sure that these files are not part of the sync anymore.
And after you have excluded them from sync, they will not be deleted automatically from the online storage. You’ll have to do that manually, if you don’t want to store them unencrypted online anymore.
Do your backups before you start deleting :wink: