On December 28th, Fast Company published their list of the top 25 newest apps of 2022. From Mastodon to ChatGPT, these apps offered radically different ways to communicate, collaborate, and write.

Skiff offers the same - but privately, with an end-to-end encrypted workspace. Over the course of 2022, we launched 

Today, Skiff products offer a feature-complete solution to the Google and Microsoft style productivity suites for communicating and collaborating. Larger teams can also take advantage of custom domains, shared teams, and shared links for collaborating externally.

 with Pro and Business tiers for individuals, families, and teams. Skiff’s paid tiers offer more storage space (up to one terabyte per user), extra email aliases (up to fifteen per user), additional version history, and shorter email aliases.

Most of all, we are grateful to the individuals who use our products and join our communities across 

 “Encrypted Email Company Skiff Wants You To Sign Out Of Google Workspace Forever” announcing the launch of Skiff Calendar and Drive to the public.

In only one year, we’ve launched four products - 

 - and signed up over a quarter million people to our private, end-to-end encrypted email, collaboration, and communication products.

 for using Skiff products on your native devices.

We’re incredibly grateful to Skiff’s users, Pro subscribers, and Business users, as well as to our tens of thousands of community members across our 

Calendar and Drive Launch in Forbes

 for Skiff's privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted workspace. Beyond major highlights such as the Skiff Mail launch, the long awaited release of Skiff Drive, and, earlier this month, the Skiff Calendar release, we launched Mobile apps for Skiff Pages, Mail, and Drive; a macOS Desktop app; and did a Cyber Monday promotion for Skiff Swag.

Below, check out several of Skiff’s biggest accomplishments.

Import your files from Google Drive to Skiff

Skiff kicked off 2022 by asking itself how it could make it easier for users to get their data off of anti-privacy platforms such as Google Drive onto privacy-respecting end-to-end encrypted services such as Skiff. The answer it came up with is to allow users to securely transfer all of their Google Docs onto Skiff simply by pressing a button. Skiff is end-to-end encrypted. There’s no setting to toggle. Privacy isn’t optional. Skiff is completely private from the first time you use it and no one but you can ever access your data — not even Skiff.

 to allow users to easily, privately, and securely purchase a Skiff Pro plan using self-service crypto payments. To use crypto payments, just navigate to the “Plans” page in Skiff’s settings and click the “Upgrade with crypto” button. You’ll see the option to purchase Skiff Pro with a Coinbase account or using any crypto wallet. BTC, ETH, and USDC are supported, with more coming soon. Once you’ve chosen your preferred cryptocurrency, just submit the transaction and enjoy using Skiff Pro immediately.

Skiff releases Workspaces, an all-new way to privately collaborate with your team. Skiff Workspaces was later updated in November to include custom domains and other user features; read more 

Skiff Releases File Storage and Document Templates

As a precursor to the Drive launch, we released file storage inside documents. Every Skiff page now supports embedding any file type - with end-to-end encryption and complete privacy. If you have IPFS decentralized storage enabled on your account, the file is stored end-to-end encrypted and fully decentralized on IPFS. In addition, whether you want to write up technical documentation or keep a daily journal, Skiff’s new template feature has you covered. Choose a template whenever you create a new page. It’s that easy.

Skiff recognizes that Mac desktop applications are widely used by a significant number of people around the world. According to Apple, as of 2021, the Mac has a global installed base of over 100 million users. This suggests that there is a large and diverse user base for Mac desktop applications. As of April 18, Skiff Users can now use Skiff as a native Mac application with the macOS app.

Check out our downloads, including the latest Mac app, here → 

Skiff Mail is end-to-end encrypted, private, open-source email that protects your inbox and gives you the power to communicate freely. On May 2, Skiff announced its Alpha launch of the mail product. Members of the Skiff 

Skiff announced the release of its iOS application for its mail service. You can download the application 

On this day, Skiff Mail launched to the public and was 

 has spent the last couple of years developing a privacy-focused, collaborative document editing platform that you could most succinctly describe as ‘encrypted Google Docs.’ Now, it’s coming for Gmail. The company is launching an email service called Skiff Mail that aims to be, well, encrypted Gmail — and eventually much more than that.”

Upload and share end-to-end encrypted, private files from your same Skiff account. A cloud storage drive is a type of online storage service that allows users to store, retrieve, and share digital files and data over the internet. Cloud storage drives typically offer a large amount of storage space that can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. Skiff’s Drive offering is a privacy-first, secure offering that sets it apart from all legacy providers. For more info, visit 

After launching Skiff Drive, Skiff made numerous meaningful improvements to its product suite. On July 2nd, Skiff added custom email signatures, a long-awaited and highly requested feature. On July 13th, we launched a new “schedule send” feature, allowing users to choose a date, time, and timezone for their email to be sent out into the world. To conclude its busy month of July, on July 25th we launched an “undo send” feature, allowing users to bring back an email into their drafts in the five seconds after sending an email.

On August 1st, Skiff released its signature manager, allowing users to customize their signature in every email, and on August 25th, it dropped a new “auto-reply” feature—allowing users to compose an auto-reply message and subject for when they need to send an immediate response. Lastly, September was filled with numerous mobile improvements such as app-switching functionality, a new settings page, and multiple account login.

Now users can sign up and use the domain @keplr.xyz with their Keplr Wallet. Keplr is an open-source, non-custodial, multi-chain wallet that allows users to store, manage, and interact with their digital assets on various blockchain networks. The wallet supports a wide range of assets, including cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. One of the main features of Keplr is its integration with the Cosmos ecosystem, which enables users to seamlessly interact with decentralized applications (DApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols built on the Cosmos network.

Keplr also supports other popular blockchain networks, making it a versatile wallet for managing a diverse range of digital assets. Keplr offers a user-friendly interface and is available on desktop and mobile devices. It also includes security features, such as seed phrase recovery and biometric authentication, to help protect user accounts and assets. Overall, Keplr is a feature-rich wallet that provides a convenient and secure way for users to manage and interact with their digital assets on multiple blockchain networks. By partnering with Keplr, Skiff demonstrated its commitment to building for a more privacy-centric, decentralized world. Read more on our blog → 

Users can add their Solana wallet to send and receive mail via their Bonfida SOL name and the domain solana.email. For context, Solana is a fast, secure, and scalable blockchain platform that is designed to support a wide range of decentralized applications (DApps). It is possible that you are referring to a decentralized application (DApp) built on the Solana platform that allows users to send and receive emails in a decentralized manner.

New paid plans, including custom domains, more aliases, and up to 1 TB of storage, are now out. You can check out these new paid plans on the Skiff 

. Hundreds of domains are already being used to send mail privately on Skiff.

Skiff Calendar is end-to-end encrypted, keeping your events private to you. All event names, descriptions, locations, and external attendees are end-to-end encrypted. Skiff calendar is also intuitive, easy to use, and compatible with invites and RSVPs from any other digital calendar. Try it at 

A digital calendar is an important tool for managing and organizing one's schedule and tasks. It can help individuals and teams stay on top of deadlines, appointments, meetings, and other commitments. Using a digital calendar can help improve productivity by providing a centralized, organized place for scheduling and tracking tasks and events. It can also help teams stay coordinated and reduce the risk of scheduling conflicts.

Overall, a digital calendar is a valuable tool for managing and organizing one's schedule and tasks, and can help improve productivity in both individual and team settings. Check it out here → 

The Skiff Calendar and Drive launch to the public was 

 by journalist Rashi Shrivastava. At this point, the Skiff products had grown to over 350,000 users, millions of emails sent and received, and a complete ecosystem of privacy-first workspace products for communicating and collaborating. Skiff Calendar is end-to-end encrypted, private, and integrates directly with Skiff Mail for all events and RSVPs, even with other digital calendars.

2022 Year in review

Have you already upgraded to the Pro or Business plan and need some quick tips on setting up a custom email domain? You’ve come to the right place.

This blog covers how to connect your domain name to your account, add aliases for you and your colleagues, and create a business email or personal address with your own, custom domain name.

First, visit the Mail custom domains settings page: Click settings, then click “Custom domains.” On mobile, click the gear icon in the top right, and then “Setup domain” (yes, you can configure custom domains from mobile as well).

Then, click “add domain,” and type in your domain name. Click “next,” and wait for the loading spinner to finish loading.

Now, you’ll be on a screen with a list of DNS records for your domain, including an MX record, two TXT records, and two CNAME records. You’ll need to add all of these records to your domain from your hosting provider.

Once you’ve navigated to your hosting provider or domain registrar, add each record for your domain. Note that 

you must have the Skiff MX record at priority zero

, and the other records must be copied in perfectly for your domain to verify properly.

After copying in all of the records, that’s it! Wait approximately five to ten minutes for your records to publish, then for Skiff to verify them.

You’ve verified your custom domain. What’s next?

You can now add any number of aliases for that domain from the custom domains settings page. First, click “add alias” next to your domain. Then, in the popup, type in your desired alias, which can even be 

! From there, you’ll want to type in an alias, and then click “add.” You’ll see the alias show up below your custom domain.

From there, you can now send and receive mail using this alias on your custom domain!

Now, what if you want to add multiple users with aliases for your custom domain? This is a common case for business email addresses.

First, add people to your workspace from your Skiff Pages or Drive dashboard (

). Click settings, then your workspace name, and “add members.” Or, share your “Everyone” team. New users will need a new account to join your workspace.

From there, all users added to your workspace will be able to add aliases on any custom domains you’ve verified for that workspace. Once you’ve added users to your workspace, Skiff can become a great email provider for businesses, teams, families, and other organizations that seek to have email accounts for team members with a shared domain name. Startups can also leverage our 

 program, which provides up to $1,000 of credit for your organization to join on the Pro or Business plans.

. We’re also available at support@skiff.org.

Quick guide: Get your custom domain set up

Looking for a new email provider? Every day, tens of millions of internet users 

 for personal and professional use. However, to get the most value out of your email address, you’ll need to take the right interventions early in order to prevent it from becoming a sea of frustrating spam, annoying notifications, and tens of thousands of unread emails. It’s time to start fresh.

Below, we walk through critical tips when selecting, setting up, and maintaining a new email account. Whether for your personal life or business email address, we’ll walk through how to transfer contacts, set up custom domain names, and manage email conveniences, like aliases and filters.

To start, you’ll want to choose an email provider that best suits your needs. There are many different providers available, each with its own set of features. 

, we outline differences in email providers and how you can migrate to a new email account. This includes setting up email forwarding, migrating your custom domain and DNS settings, setting up desktop access with IMAP, and adding an auto-reply to remind old contacts that you’ll

If you’re looking for an end-to-end encrypted provider, we highly encourage using 

, which provides privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted communications. Skiff Mail also integrates with Skiff Pages and Drive, which provide real time collaboration, file storage, sharing, templates, and more.

When you read a privacy policy, it's important to understand what information is being collected about you and how it will be used. Look for information about what personal data is being collected, how it will be used, and whether it will be shared with third parties. For example, social media sites are notorious for 

As you read, pay attention to the language used in the privacy policy. Some companies use vague or confusing language to hide the fact that they are collecting personal data. If you can't understand what a company is saying in its privacy policy, be suspicious. Finally, remember that a privacy policy is a legal document. If you don't agree with the terms, you may not be able to use the company's services. If you have any questions, contact the company directly to get clarification.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an additional layer of security that should also be used to protect your new email account. When 2FA is enabled, a user is required to provide two pieces of evidence (or "factors") to verify their identity before they can access their account. The most common type of 2FA uses a combination of a password (something the user knows) and a code that is generated by an authentication app, from an SMS code, or using a hardware token (

2FA can help to prevent unauthorized access to online accounts, even if an attacker knows the user's password. In This is because the attacker would also need to have access to the user's mobile device in order to generate the code required for 2FA. In certain cases, even if you choose a strong password, your email provider may have security breaches, insecure authentication methods, or experience 

other hacks that make 2FA a critical security measure

. 2FA is not a perfect solution, but it can be a helpful security measure, particularly for high-value accounts such as email or financial accounts.

Adding a recovery email will allow you to reset your password if you forget it. If you create a new email address, forgetting your password or losing access to a device you previously used could permanently lock you out of your new account. Regardless of the provider you choose, including 

, email accounts all allow for adding a backup email address. Some email providers may also allow you to add a phone number for backup or two-factor authentication.

Adding a backup email can have additional security benefits as well. Some email providers will deliver security alerts, such as suspicious sign in attempts, to your backup email address warning that you may need to change your password. Pay attention to these alerts as they may be a last line of defense if your password or sign in methods are compromised.

For many cloud based providers, email backup may not come as an initial top priority. However, email is one of the most important forms of communication, so it's critical to back up your emails in case of data loss.

There are a few different ways to back up your emails, and the best method depends on your needs and constraints. One way to back up your emails is to export them to a file, such as a .pst file, .mbox file, or 

. This file can be imported into another email program, such as MicrosoftOutlook, or help you transition to a new email provider, like 

. This method is ideal if you need to switch email programs or if you want to keep a local copy of your emails. You may also consider storing exported files on a cloud backup service. This way, you'll have a local copy as well as a cloud-based copy. For more information on choosing an encrypted cloud storage provider, visit our 

Email filters can automatically organize your inbox by sorting incoming mail using folders, labels, and other rules.

There are a few ways to set up email filters, depending on the email service you use. Here are instructions for setting up filters in Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo Mail.

1. Log in to your Gmail account and click the gear icon in the top right corner.

2. Select "Settings" from the drop-down menu.

3. Click the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab.

5. Enter the criteria for your filter in the appropriate fields. For example, you could enter a specific email address in the "From" field to filter all messages from that address.

6. Click the "Create filter with this search" link.

7. Select the actions you want to take for messages that match your filter criteria. For example, you could choose to delete all messages from a certain sender.

1. Log in to your Outlook account and click the gear icon in the top right corner.

2. Select "View all Outlook settings" from the drop-down menu.

6. Enter the criteria for your filter in the appropriate fields. For example, you could enter a specific email address in the "From" field to filter all messages from that address.

8. Select the actions you want to take for messages that match your filter criteria. For example, you could choose to delete all messages from a certain sender.

1. Log in to your Yahoo Mail account and click the gear icon in the top right corner.

7. Select the actions you want to take for messages

Consider using folders, adding labels, or archiving

On a new email account, you’ll want to keep your inbox organized to prevent a mess of unread emails, spam, and sponsored promotions. We encourage spending time early in your setup process to figure out a workflow that works best for your use case. For example, some email users choose to set up labels, folders, or filters to separate incoming email. Others choose to stick with 

 - such as folders - for maximum tidiness.

When you receive an email, you can either file it away in a designated folder or label it so you can easily find it later. Filing emails away in folders can help to keep your inbox organized and tidy, while labeling emails allows you to quickly find and reference specific emails. Generally, email folders also remove mail from your inbox, while 

multiple labels can be applied to a single

If you find yourself constantly searching for certain types of emails, it might be helpful to create a folder for them. For example, if you frequently need to reference order confirmation emails, you could create a folder called "Orders" and file all of your order confirmation emails away in that folder. On the other hand, if you only occasionally need to reference an email, labeling it might be a better solution. For example, if you receive an email from your bank that you need to refer to later, you could label it "Banking" so you can easily find it when you need it without excluding it from your inbox. In general, using both labels and folders can help to keep your inbox organized and make it easier to find specific emails when you need them. Experiment with both methods to see what works best for you and your email habits.

If you’re experimenting with new inbox organization techniques, we highly recommend learning the ins-and-outs of your provider’s search functionality. On Gmail, knowing certain operators can let 

, subject lines, senders, labels, and more. Other providers implement different search offerings as well; for example, Apple’s native mail app supports basic text search, while Skiff’s web client supports sender, attachment, label, and folder search via a graphical interface inside the app.

To properly set up a new email account, you’ll want to get acquainted with your new provider’s mobile, desktop, tablet, and web apps. All major email providers offer sophisticated cross platform capabilities and sync to ensure your 

. However, mobile email products vary in speed, capabilities, and more, so you may want to review your email organization system (labels, folders, search, and more) via your provider’s mobile applications.

 worldwide, providers have started to offer advanced inbox features for email power users. These include email signatures (a relatively basic feature), auto replies (which will respond to all incoming mail), undo send (which will delay sending your email for 5-30 seconds in case you choose to undo), and multiple email aliases. On privacy-focused email providers, multiple aliases are a critical feature for maintaining privacy on your email address while funneling all email to a single inbox.

For business users, email providers frequently integrate with contact information, collaborative documents, or workspace features (custom domains, custom signatures, and centralized management for business email accounts).

A new email account is only as powerful as the time spent in setup. We recommend following the tips above to organize your inbox, set up desktop and mobile apps, and maintain privacy and security of your new email address. For more tips on transitioning from an old email address to a new one, check out our 

10 tips for setting up an email account

In this blog, we’ll review the best and most popular secure collaboration products that support different levels of encryption, from end-to-end encrypted collaboration platforms and messaging apps, to more sophisticated team workspaces and communication products. This blog starts with the most popular end-to-end encrypted and open-source messaging apps, such as Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Session. For many individuals, our most sensitive information is stored inside these products.

From there, we’ll cover popular workspace products, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, and analyze whether they meet today’s cybersecurity needs. Finally, we’ll conclude by analyzing file storage and video conferencing products, including Dropbox, Google Drive, Zoom, and other video communication apps.

End-to-end encrypted messaging apps for work

When it comes to messaging apps, there are a lot of different options to choose from. Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp are three of the most popular messaging apps available. So, which one is the best? To start, all three of these messaging apps are very similar. They all allow you to send messages, make calls, and share files. They also all have end-to-end encryption (although Telegram does not enable it by default in all chats), which means that your messages are private only to you.

However, there are some differences between these messaging apps. Generally, Signal is the most private and well trusted of your messaging app options. Telegram is a bit less private than Signal. It is not open source, so you have to trust that the company has not put any backdoors into the app.

 is the best choice for those who value privacy above all else. It uses end-to-end encryption by default, meaning that your messages are only accessible to you and the person you're messaging. Signal is also completely open source, which means that anyone can audit the code to make sure that there are no security issues. Signal is also backed by the non-profit organization Open Whisper Systems.

 also offers end-to-end encryption, but it's not enabled by default. Telegram is the best choice for those who want more functionality built into a messaging app. It offers a desktop app, group chats, voice and video calls (which Signal, WhatsApp, and Session offer) - as well as some integrations that can be useful for larger organizations. For example, Telegram allows you to create groups with up to 200 people. You can also set up bots to do things like send you weather updates or news headlines. WhatsApp is the least private of the three messaging apps. It is

 uses end-to-end encryption, but it shares some data with Facebook and its parent organization Meta. WhatsApp also offers some of these features, but it doesn't have a desktop app. WhatsApp is the best choice for those who want a simple, popular messaging app. It's easy to use and it integrates with your phone's existing contacts.

 is an end-to-end encrypted messaging product built on the 

. Session offers many of the strict privacy features that are available on Signal, such as extremely limited metadata collection and sharing. Similar to WhatsApp and Signal, Session now offers video chat and voice calls.

So, which messaging app is the best? It depends on your priorities. If privacy is your top concern, go with Signal. If you want the convenience features mentioned above, such as bot messaging and numerous customization options, you may want to go with Telegram. If you just want a simple, popular app, go with WhatsApp.

Slack and Microsoft teams are incredibly popular saas products, with hundreds of millions of users and many of the world’s biggest companies as customers. However, both products have lagged in privacy protections and encryption - and neither product supports end-to-end encryption out of the box.

 is a cloud-based set of proprietary team collaboration tools and services, founded in 2014. Slack offers many features, including real-time messaging, archiving, and to-do lists. It integrates with a variety of third-party services and supports team chat rooms, private groups, and direct messaging.

 is a cloud-based team collaboration platform that was announced in 2016. It is a part of the Office 365 suite of productivity tools and services. Teams offers features similar to Slack, including real-time messaging, file sharing, and integration with third-party services. It also supports team chat rooms, private groups, and direct messaging.

 is a popular, security-focused, and open-source collaboration product. It is frequently self hosted or deployed on-premise by organizations, allowing each customer to set their own security posture and configure settings such as SSO and data retention policies.

 offers an end-to-end encrypted team collaboration environment similar to Slack. Unlike Mattermost, Wire is self-hosted, enabling individuals to easily onboard and share workspaces with collaborators. Wire also offers products for enterprise and government use and is open-source.

 for team collaboration that does support end-to-end encryption out of the box. Notably, the company was purchased by Zoom.

We’ll start by comparing the three major providers - Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive. All three services offer a similar basic set of features, allowing users to store and sync their files online for easy access from anywhere. However, we’ll then add two end-to-end encrypted providers that yield a similar level of usability with significantly better security and privacy.

 is a cloud storage service from Microsoft that comes bundled with Windows 10. If you have a Microsoft account, you get 5GB of storage for free with OneDrive. OneDrive integrates tightly with Windows, making it a good choice if you're using Microsoft Office or other Microsoft products. OneDrive also offers some features that are unique among the three services, such as the ability to backup your entire PC to the cloud.

 is one of the oldest and most popular cloud storage services. It offers a generous 2GB of storage for free, with paid plans starting at $9.99/month for 1TB of storage. Dropbox has a well-deserved reputation for being reliable and easy to use. It also integrates with a wide variety of apps and services, making it a good choice if you need to share files with others.

 is a cloud storage service from Google. It offers 15GB of storage for free, with paid plans starting at $1.99/month for 100GB. Google Drive integrates with a variety of Google services, making it a good choice if you're already using other Google products. Google Drive also offers some unique features, such as the ability to create and edit Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly from the web interface.

 is a similarly consumer and business friendly product for end-to-end encrypted file storage, real-time collaboration, and secure collaboration. End-to-end encryption guarantees that only you - and never the technology provider - has access to your data. Skiff also offers additional security features, including password protected documents and multi-factor authentication, as well as 10 GB storage free for all users.

 is another end-to-end encrypted cloud storage provider that offers mobile and desktop sync as well. Tresorit has begun to branch out and offer products in other areas of collaboration, such as digital signatures. For users looking for a replacement to a Dropbox style product without some of the needs for real-time collaboration or email, Tresorit could be an effective option. Both Skiff and Tresorit offer clients for iOS, Android, and more platforms.

When considering encrypted collaboration tools, end-to-end encryption, or zero trust encryption, is an absolute necessity as it protects your personal or professional information in the event of a data breach. As a result, we highly recommend using Skiff, Tresorit, or other products listed on our end-to-end encrypted cloud storage 

 on its videoconferencing products accumulating trillions of minutes of meetings. Yet, as Zoom surged to popularity as a staple of remote work, it also faced numerous security and privacy scandals, from misleading users into thinking the software was “

” to routing free calls through data centers 

, which could have led to unintended data collection.

Other convenient products for video communication include Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, which provide a similar level of compatibility, web access, screen sharing, and more. However, these products also lack end-to-end encryption, except Microsoft Teams when 

However, many popular video conferencing products now offer E2EE out of the box. What products provide greater data security while allowing team members to communicate effectively?

: For a free, simple, and universal alternative, you may consider turning to many of the messaging products listed above, which now offer 

 with end-to-end encryption. For example, Signal’s video calling feature is now available on both desktop and mobile apps, allowing participants to communicate while knowing that no sensitive data, including metadata, will be collected.

: Yes - Apple’s FaceTime communication product used by millions of people around the world is end-to-end 

. It thus represents a viable alternative to using Signal or other trusted messaging apps for video communciation.

: Wire is privacy and security focused collaboration platform similar to Slack that also offers a full video conferencing product. Given that it provides fully end-to-end encrypted calls that are integrated in a team workspace, it is a convenient product for teams that may be looking for a more secure collaboration tool as well as a video conferencing solution.

 is a video communication product offered by Brave. The platform, which currently only allows joining calls on Brave Browser, is based on an open-source product called 

, and provides encryption in transit using TLS and AES-256 but does 

 support end-to-end encryption. As a result, although Brave Talk may limit metadata collection, truly security minded users will want to stick with a fully end-to-end encrypted product.

Choosing a collaboration product for video conferences, team communication, and file sharing is a critical security decision for any team. Given that, it is critical that decision makers investigate alternatives, including the security-focused, end-to-end encrypted products described above.

Generally, organizational security is simpler when the right decisions are made from the beginning. For example, instead of onboarding an organization onto the Google or Microsoft ecosystems, one may consider using a full secure collaboration platform to start. For example, 

 offers end-to-end encrypted email, collaboration, and workspace products. Secure collaboration tools are here to stay - and only getting more sophisticated and capable.

If you’re also looking for an end-to-end encrypted notes product, you may consider reviewing 

; or, if you’re looking for a new, privacy-focused web browser for your personal or professional use, we wrote up a comparison of many 

Encrypted collaboration tools

Collaborating in real-time is a technical challenge across networking, infrastructure, product, and text editing. For many internet users, Google Docs introduced real-time collaboration to writing, with text emerging from multiple colorful cursors when working together. Today, remote collaboration and remote work go hand-in-hand, with real-time editing a daily necessity.

Yet, organizations today require greater privacy and security standards, particularly as they collaborate across time zones and share data containing critical personal or professional information. Given these requirements, new security standards, such as end-to-end encryption, have become requirements for many business contexts and consumer messaging.

This article explores the nuances of how real-time collaboration operates in an end-to-end encrypted environment, where no centralized server has access to users’ sensitive data in plain text. After giving an overview of how collaboration works today on products such as Google Docs, we’ll cover new, distributed models that change the privacy paradigm and enable seamless real-time work while preserving end-to-end encryption of all user and document data.

A brief history of collaborating in real-time

 used to achieve a particular goal. The most common use for operational transforms is in computer science, where they are used to create and maintain consistency in a distributed system.

Google Docs is a popular example of a system that 

. Google Docs is a cloud-based word processing and spreadsheet application that allows users to collaboratively edit documents in real-time. When multiple users are editing a document at the same time, each user's edits are tracked by an operational transform. These transforms are then applied to the document on each user's screen, so that everyone sees the same document, with the most up-to-date changes.

Operational transforms are a powerful tool for maintaining consistency in a distributed system. However, they can also be used for other purposes. For example, operational transforms can be used to create a shared whiteboard that multiple users can draw on simultaneously.

Operational transforms are a fascinating topic with a wide range of applications.

In a collaborative system defined by operational transforms, a single centralized entity is required to maintain track of the current system state and apply operations to that state. When Google Docs was released 

, this was the only way to collaborate in real-time on the web.

However, the prospect of having every key and edit pass through centralized Google servers may now give users pause. With privacy scandals rippling through big tech in recent years, hundreds of millions of users are choosing to limit the amount of personal and sensitive data shared with these companies.

Collaborative documents frequently involve incredibly sensitive personal or corporate information, from new designs to client lists. As a result, end-to-end encryption has become a necessity. In this model, no centralized authority has access to user data, making operational transforms impossible. This has led to a new, state-of-the-art data structure for collaborating in real-time: The CRDT.

What are CRDTs, and how do they enable secure, real-time editing?

) are a category of data structures used to achieve 

 (CmRDT). CRDTs are an important category of data structures for distributed systems, as they can be used to achieve various consistency models including eventual consistency and strong eventual consistency. Eventual consistency is a weaker form of consistency that allows for some stale reads, but guarantees that all writes will eventually be visible to all readers. Strong eventual consistency is a stronger form of eventual consistency that guarantees that all writes will be visible to all readers within a bounded time period. CRDTs can be used to implement both of these consistency models.

 across multiple nodes in a distributed system. Each node in the system has its own copy of the CRDT data structure. The individual copies of the CRDT are kept in sync by exchanging updates between the nodes. When a node makes a change to its copy of the CRDT, it propagates the change to the other nodes in the system. The other nodes then apply the change to their own copies of the CRDT. This process continues until all the nodes in the system have the same copy of the CRDT.

The key property that allows CRDTs to achieve strong eventual consistency is commutativity. Commutativity is a property of mathematical operations that states that the order in which the operations are performed does not affect the result. For example, the addition operation is commutative because the order of the operands does not affect the result:

The multiplication operation is also commutative:

However, the subtraction operation is not commutative:

The order of the operands does affect the result of the subtraction operation.

CRDTs are designed to be commutative. This means that the order in which the updates are applied does not affect the final state of the CRDT - an absolutely critical property when considering how real-time collaboration works. This property is important because it allows the updates to be applied in any order, without affecting the result. This is crucial for achieving strong eventual consistency, because it means that the updates can be applied asynchronously. As long as all the updates are eventually applied, the CRDT will reach the same final state, regardless of the order in which the updates are applied.

There are many different types of CRDTs, each of which is designed for a specific type of data. The most common types of CRDTs are counters, sets, and maps.

 are the simplest type of CRDT. They are designed to track a single number, such as the number of likes on a post. Counters have two operations: Increment and decrement. These operations are commutative, so the order in which they are applied does not affect the result.

 are another common type of CRDT. They are designed to track a set of values, such as the set of users who have liked a post. Sets have two operations: Add and remove. These operations are also commutative, so the order in which they are applied does not affect the result.

 are the most complex type of CRDT. They are designed to track a mapping of keys to values, such as the mapping of user IDs to user names. Maps have four operations: Put, remove, get, and clear. These operations are not commutative, but they are 

. This means that the order in which they are applied does affect the result, but applying the same operation multiple times has the same effect as applying it once.

CRDTs are a powerful tool for achieving strong eventual consistency. They are designed to be replicated across multiple nodes in a distributed system and to be updated asynchronously. The key property that allows CRDTs to achieve strong eventual consistency is commutativity. This property allows the updates to be applied in any order, without affecting the result.

CRDTs’ consistency properties make them ideal candidates for facilitaing decentralized, end-to-end encrypted collaboration. Because the order in which operations are applied does not change the eventual consistency of a system, users may exchange distinct operations on documents or data structures and arrive at a shared final state.

 to the point where they are being deployed in production systems for real-time collaborating on documents, spreadsheets, whiteboards, and more. Furthermore, given that they allow for a distributed architecture in collaborating, it is possible for participants to exchange fully end-to-end encrypted updates, where no centralized party exists to track and maintain user data.

CRDTs may optimistically become the future of all collaborative products due to their wide extensibility and attractive properties.

 CRDT for production real-time collaboration, you can visit 

 to sign up and create an account for end-to-end encrypted mail, notes, file storage, and more. To learn more about how Skiff uses CRDTs, visit Skiff’s 

, which goes into greater technical depth on many of the design challenges and decisions made to build a privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted workspace.

How does encrypted collaboration work in real-time?

We’re excited to announce that Skiff Mail has been awarded the PCMag Editor’s Choice award and an “Outstanding” review. Check out the full 

, which goes into incredible depth on Skiff’s Mail, Drive, and Pages products, as well as all the different ways you can leverage the sharing and security functionality for your team.

Detailed review of search, organizations, and more

Neil Rubenking’s review contains a detailed description of how searching on Skiff works. On Skiff Mail, all emails are searchable by default - a rare feature release in an end-to-end encrypted communication product.

As the article specifies, Skiff has pioneered open-source, client-side search algorithms for sequencing and searching through end-to-end encrypted data. For more information on how search works in Skiff Mail and Skiff Pages, read our technical blog post “

The incredibly thorough review also discusses how every Skiff user can benefit from using multiple email aliases, downloading native apps on iOS, Android, and Mac desktops. Downloading apps earns credit towards a Pro subscription, which provides extra storage space and other additional features.

In the final sections, the PCMag review offers a detailed introduction to Skiff Pages and Skiff Drive - fully end-to-end encrypted products for collaboration, note taking, file storage, and sharing. Files can be dragged and dropped into the webapp, created from scratch, or adapted from the in-app template library.

Skiff’s in-app editor allows for significant customization, including text color, highlighting, sophisticated tables, and more. For external collaboration, every user can also click “Publish” to share end-to-end encrypted viewable or editable links. These links can easily be shared in a messaging app, email, or chat function. To learn more about link sharing on Skiff, check out our 

, one of the top sources for trusted information about privacy-respecting services all over the web. Check out the site to learn more about privacy-respecting products for collaborating, communicating, and more.

PCMag Editor’s Choice and more

Skiff Domains take all the pain out of domain registration for your own privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted mail address. Instead of configuring MX, CNAME, and TXT records, you can now simply sign up, open Skiff Mail, and purchase a domain that will be automatically configured to receive mail privately on Skiff.

Skiff Domains help you go from Mail users to a professional custom domain - for your business, family, or personal projects - in seconds.

To start, open Skiff Mail, and click into the settings page inside Skiff Mail. Then, click on the “custom domains” tab on the left. Or, click this link to go directly to custom domain settings → 

https://app.skiff.com/mail?settingTab=custom+domains.

From this settings page, you can create, purchase, or manage all of your custom domains. This includes adding domains that you already own using DNS record verification, adding aliases for domains that are already verified, and purchasing new domains on Skiff.

To start with buying a domain, click “Buy custom domain.” Then, you’ll be prompted with an input field to search for a new domain. Once you’ve entered a search term, you’ll view suggested domains with different endings. Once you’ve selected your preferred domain, simply click on it, and you will be redirected to a checkout page to sign up for a subscription for your domain.

Skiff named top 25 app of 2022

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