End-to-End Encryption: How TinyX Protects Your Files

When you upload a file with encryption enabled, TinyX uses AES-256 to encrypt it before it's stored. This article explains what that means in practice and what guarantees it gives you.

What "Zero-Knowledge" Means

TinyX encrypts your file at the point of upload. By the time the file reaches our storage, it's already encrypted — we never see or store the plaintext content. This is called zero-knowledge encryption: we have no ability to read your files even if we wanted to.

This is different from "encrypted in transit" (HTTPS), which most services use. With HTTPS, data is encrypted on the wire but decrypted at the server. With TinyX end-to-end encryption, the server only ever handles the encrypted form.

How It Works Step by Step

1. You upload a file — TinyX encrypts it using AES-256 before it leaves your browser
2. Encrypted data is stored — your file lands in our storage in its encrypted form
3. You share the link — the download link includes everything needed to decrypt on the recipient's device
4. Recipient downloads — the file is decrypted locally in their browser; TinyX never sees the plaintext

Which Files Are Encrypted?

Encryption is available on Pro and Max plans. When creating or uploading a file, you'll see an Encrypt file toggle. Free plan users can share files without encryption.

On the Free plan, files are still transferred over HTTPS (secure in transit) but are not end-to-end encrypted at rest.

What Encryption Doesn't Cover

• File metadata — the file name, size, and upload timestamp are stored unencrypted so TinyX can display your file list correctly
• Access logs — we still log when a file was accessed (for your analytics), but not what was in i

Does This Slow Down Uploads or Downloads?

Minimally. AES-256 encryption and decryption happen fast enough on modern devices that you're unlikely to notice the difference compared to an unencrypted file of the same size.

Can I Encrypt Existing Files?

Encryption is set at upload time. If you want to encrypt a file that was uploaded without encryption, you'll need to delete it and re-upload with encryption enabled.

Need help? Open the chat widget — we're here.

Updated on: 23/04/2026