MyCryptFS vs.
Password Managers
Password managers protect credentials.
But your sensitive files live elsewhere — unprotected.
Password managers protect credentials.
But your sensitive files live elsewhere — unprotected.
Work secrets, personal documents, and shared family files can each live in a separate encrypted folder — each with its own independent password. One compromised password exposes one folder, not everything. A password manager has a single master password: one breach, total exposure.
gocryptfs encrypts each file independently. When you update one document, only that file's ciphertext changes — your cloud client syncs kilobytes, not megabytes. Password managers store everything in a single encrypted binary blob: edit one password and the whole vault re-uploads.
Password managers store text fields: usernames, passwords, notes. An encrypted folder stores actual files — PDFs, tax returns, certificates, SSH keys, images, archives, anything. If it fits in a filesystem, MyCryptFS protects it.
Any gocryptfs client on Linux, Android, Windows, or macOS can open your data. Password managers bind you to proprietary vault formats — switching means exporting, converting, and trusting the migration tool with your secrets.
1Password and Dashlane charge monthly. Bitwarden's self-hosted path requires a server. MyCryptFS is free forever — a one-time download with no paywalls, no premium tiers, and no feature gates.
iCloud, Dropbox, Synology NAS, S3, or a plain rsync target — you choose where ciphertext lives. Password managers dictate the sync infrastructure. MyCryptFS is agnostic: if your cloud can store a folder, it works.
No login server, no internet requirement, no 2FA prompt at 2 AM. Mount the folder with your password and you're done. Password manager apps routinely break when the sync service has an outage or your subscription lapses.
Password manager vaults are high-value targets — LastPass, Norton, and others have been breached. Your encrypted folder is an independent, low-profile blob of ciphertext with no centralised attack surface.
100 MB scan results, nested project folders, binary blobs, multi-gigabyte archives — no field length limits, no attachment caps, no per-file size restrictions. The folder is as large as your disk allows.
gocryptfs is MIT-licensed and underwent an independent security audit in 2017 — no critical vulnerabilities found. There is no proprietary black box protecting your data, and the cryptography is peer-reviewed and documented.
Ready to encrypt your files?
Open MyCryptFS →