
That’s the kind of encryption we’re talking about in this article. Luckily there are other types of encryption that can prevent even the most data-hungry companies like Google and Facebook from accessing your files. And if the government requests your data or uses mass surveillance to monitor you, your files may not be private. When you upload something to Dropbox, the company can see it. When you share a picture using Google Photos, the company can see it. But much of the encryption used online isn’t as secure as you might think. It’s the reason you can buy things online and share photos privately with friends. Modern computing is possible because of encryption.

We’ll also explain how you can encrypt your files on the cloud and then access them on any device. In this how-to guide, we’ll show you the easiest ways to encrypt your files on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.

That’s useful if you’re concerned about hackers stealing your most sensitive documents or companies scanning your data for advertising. When you encrypt files on your computer, it’s like storing them in a vault: Only someone with the correct key can access them.
