Send an encrypted file

cadenas is often used to send a sensitive document: a contract, an ID card, a payslip. Your recipient needs no account and nothing to install, only the password.

Steps

1. Encrypt the file on getcadenas.com. Use a generated passphrase: it is strong and easy to read out.
2. Send the .cadenas file the usual way: email, messaging app, USB stick, cloud.
3. Send the password another way: text message, phone call, in person. If both go through the same mailbox, anyone who gets into it has everything.
4. Give the recipient the address getcadenas.com/#decrypt. They drop the file there, type the password and get the document back. This address is also shown after every encryption.

Message template

Hi,

The document is attached, encrypted with a password I'm sending you by text. To open it, go to https://getcadenas.com/#decrypt, drop the file and type the password. Nothing is sent over the Internet: it all happens in your browser.

If the recipient prefers another tool

Encrypt in the age format (--age option on the command line): the .age file also opens with age or rage, without cadenas.

What someone intercepting the file sees

Without the password, nothing of the content. They only see the file name and its approximate size. If the name itself is sensitive, rename the file before encrypting it, or use cadenas lock --hide-name: the name is then kept inside the encrypted file.