Blog / Two Years of Cryptomator Hub – Team Encryption Reimagined

On November 2, 2023, Cryptomator Hub 1.0 was released—our solution for secure, encrypted collaboration in the cloud. Two years later, Cryptomator Hub has become a central tool for companies, universities, and NGOs that want to protect their sensitive data while working efficiently as a team.

On this anniversary, we look back on two exciting years full of further developments, beta features, new areas of application—and what’s yet to come.

What is Cryptomator Hub?

Cryptomator Hub is the central platform for managing and sharing encrypted vaults.

While the classic Cryptomator app allows individuals to protect their cloud files, the Hub extends this principle to teams and organizations.

Cryptomator Hub offers a web-based dashboard that administrators and team members can use to manage users, assign roles, and control access rights—all fully encrypted and GDPR-compliant.

Cryptomator Hub thus bridges the gap between strong end-to-end encryption and user-friendly teamwork.

Features That Make the Difference

1. Centralized Management of Users and Permissions
   Whether you’re a small team or a large organization, administrators can always keep track of who has access to which vaults. Role-based permissions make management easy and transparent.
2. Web of Trust
   This security model enables secure key exchange between team members via digital trust relationships. No unencrypted data exchange and no complicated key files, as trust is mapped technically.
3. Create Vault Role
   Teams can independently create new vaults without administrators having to accompany each step. This keeps collaboration flexible while maintaining a high level of security.
4. Self-Hosting & Data Protection by Design
   Data protection is not an add-on, but a core principle: Cryptomator Hub can be operated locally (on-prem) or in private cloud environments. This gives companies and institutions complete control over their infrastructure and data.
5. Integration with Popular Cloud Services
   Whether OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or Nextcloud, Cryptomator Hub integrates seamlessly into existing work environments and protects data regardless of the provider.

Typical Areas of Application

Companies and Public Authorities

Companies use Cryptomator Hub to implement zero-trust security strategies. Industries with high compliance requirements—such as healthcare, public administration, and legal services—benefit particularly from GDPR-compliant cloud encryption.

Companies such as Walbusch GmbH & Co. KG are already successfully using Cryptomator Hub and can report consistently positive results:

With Cryptomator Hub, we can securely manage sensitive company data while making it easy for our employees to use.

Andreas Cofalla, Application Manager IT, Walbusch GmbH & Co. KG

Universities and Research Institutions

Research teams secure their project data with Hub without sacrificing cloud collaboration. Sensitive research data remains protected while collaboration across departments or countries continues to function.

NGOs and Nonprofits

For organizations operating globally, Cryptomator Hub offers a secure way to share confidential documents—from grant proposals to personnel data—even with limited IT resources.

IT Teams and Data Protection Officers

Hub simplifies audits, role management, and verification of data protection-compliant working practices—a clear advantage in internal and external security audits.

Two Years of Further Development – And Looking to the Future

Since its launch in 2023, Cryptomator Hub has developed rapidly.

The 1.4.0 update in April 2025 brought two decisive milestones with the Web of Trust and the Create Vault role. Furthermore, everything is focused on optimization, scaling, and future-proofing—especially with regard to the upcoming standards of post-quantum cryptography.

But we are not resting on our laurels. Three new features are already in the pipeline to make Cryptomator Hub even more powerful and user-friendly.

User/Group Management

User and group management will become much more convenient in the future. With the new, integrated user/group management, smaller companies and organizations can create and manage their team structures directly in the hub—intuitively, clearly, and without detours.

In the background, we continue to rely on Keycloak—a proven, powerful solution for identity and access management.

Emergency Access

In companies, it can always happen that employees leave and access to important data is lost as a result.

The upcoming Emergency Access feature provides a remedy here: it allows you to designate a specific group of authorized persons who can restore access to a vault, either collectively or partially, in an emergency.

Even in critical situations or in the event of personnel changes, the company remains capable of acting.

Files in Use (in the Desktop App)

A frequently expressed wish of our Hub customers: better support for collaborating on Office files.

While LibreOffice, for example, already has a built-in locking system for open files, this has been missing in Microsoft Office until now. That’s why we are currently developing our own “locking system” in the Cryptomator desktop app that recognizes when a file is already open and informs other users.

This makes collaborating on documents more conflict-free, transparent, and secure—another step toward smooth teamwork.

Two Years of Trust, Cooperation, and Security

In two years, Cryptomator Hub has evolved from an idea into a reliable platform for secure teamwork.

We would like to thank all users, administrators, and testers who have helped to further develop Cryptomator Hub with their feedback—and we look forward to the next chapter.