Most "folder lock" apps just hide a folder from Explorer or Finder -- the files themselves sit on disk, untouched, for anyone with the right tool to find. Folder Vault encrypts the real content with AES-256-GCM, then hides it too, for defense in depth.
Every feature below is backed by the actual encryption architecture, not a settings toggle that only fools the file browser.
Every file in a locked folder is packed and encrypted with AES-256-GCM into a single authenticated container -- not just marked "hidden." Tamper with the vault file and it fails to decrypt, rather than silently returning garbage.
Your master password is hardened with Argon2id key derivation, tuned to resist GPU cracking. It never leaves your device, and Folder Vault has no server that could see it even if it wanted to.
A BIP-39 recovery phrase is generated once at setup, shown to you exactly once. Forget your master password and it's the only way back in -- consistent with the same recovery model used across the whole Vault Suite.
On top of encryption, locked folders get the Windows hidden attribute plus an owner-only ACL, or the Finder hidden flag plus POSIX 0600 permissions on macOS -- defense in depth, not a replacement for the encryption underneath.
Run Folder Vault straight from a USB drive across different computers with one shared master password. Each machine gets its own local manifest, so a drive only ever lists the folders it actually locked on that computer.
Windows drive letters change; volume IDs don't. Folder Vault tracks the underlying volume, so a USB stick that shows up as E: today and F: tomorrow still finds and unlocks its folders correctly.
Back up every vault and your configuration to a destination of your choice, and restore onto a new device with the same master password or recovery code -- no vendor lock-in to one machine.
Lost track of a vault file, or recovering a drive with a damaged manifest? Point Folder Vault at a folder or drive to scan, and it finds vault files by their format, ready to re-register.
Folder Vault shares its DEK-and-recovery-code architecture with Password Vault and Email Vault -- one hardened design, proven across every app in the suite.
The question every vault app eventually has to answer: what if you just need to glance at one file, without exposing the whole folder in plaintext on disk? Folder Vault has an actual answer.
Browse without unlocking. Open a locked folder in a familiar breadcrumb-and-list explorer -- the vault file on disk stays exactly as it was, still hidden and encrypted, the entire time you're looking around.
Preview images, video, and PDFs on the spot. Images, text, and PDFs render straight from decrypted memory -- no temp file ever touches your disk. Video streams from a loopback connection only your own machine can reach.
Import and export files without a full unlock -- add a new file into the vault, or pull one out to a location you choose, while everything else stays locked.
Unlock for good, whenever you actually need to. Need to rename, delete, or reorganize? One button fully restores the folder to plain files -- do what you need with normal tools, then lock it back up.
No subscription, no recurring fee, no feature paywall inside the app.