How To Create An iCloud Cryptomator Vault On Mac

This how to create an iCloud Cryptomator Vault On Mac helps you to protect your data for privacy or security reasons. You will learn how to leverage on Cryptomator in a simply way for protecting your data.

Index:

Background

Since there are various reasons that speak for or against encrypting data that is stored in the cloud, we do not debate this in this How To. However, the most common concerns that speak for encryption are on privacy and that the cloud drive potentially is exposed to the cyber risk. Additionally, I hear often concerns about data being stored in a foreign country with a different legal environment that potentially allows local authorities to do different things which maybe are not in the interests you have.

This How To Create An iCloud Cryptomator Vault On A Mac assumes that you have installed the Cyptomator App already and that you have either a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio or a Mac Pro. If you do not have one of these, the how to maybe works for you too or some steps maybe are different on your system.

Important Note

Let me say this: Before you start with this How To Create An iCloud Cryptomator Vault On Mac, i strongly recommend you backup all your data on an external backup drive, since this is in general seen as a good option to backup data. There are some good external hard drive options available on the market. If you backed up your data you are safe for the case that someting goes wrong whilst storing data encrypted in the cloud.

How To Create An iCloud Cryptomator Vault On Mac

This how to explains how to create a new Cryptomator Vault (Folder). It is very simple and with this 10 step guide you can get this done. Since pictures can help for easier understanding, the below picture supports the 11 step guide graphically. 

To start, open the Cryptomator App. Once done, follow the below 11 steps. You also can find the 11 steps in a more graphical manner in the below picture:

  1. Click on “+Add Vault”.
  2. You select “Create New Vault”.
  3. Give the Vault a great name. In the example the name is not so great 🙂 but it is “My New Vault”
  4. Cryptomator now asks you where to store the new vault. For this How To and because you like to store it on iCloud Drive, we select iCloud Drive. Certainly you can select another location, for example a local or external physical drive, but in this how to you want to put the vault onto iCloud, hence you select iCloud.
  5. In step 5 you need to set a secure password. You would like to create a secure password and you like to store it securely. If you lose this password, you will have no access to your data anymore!
  6. The Cryptomator App gives you the opportunity now to copy or print the recovery key. Its strongly recommended to do so. You can save it in your password manager, on an USB drive or simply print it on paper. I am sure, there are also other options. 
  7. The App now confirms that the vault was added and in a next step you need to unlock the vault. In this scenario you unlock immediately by you clicking on “Unlock Now”.
  8. You unlock it by the previously set password. If you prefer, you can say “remember password”, hence you have not to retype it every time you open the Cryptomator Vault. I strongly recommend you do not select “remember password” if you are for example on a public computer or a computer not owned by you.
  9. In step 9 Cryptomator App shows you the option to select if it should remember your choices. Feel free, depending on your need, to activate it. Afterwards you hit “Reveal Drive”.
  10. Cryptomator App shows you now the starting point, with the difference, that your new Vault is visible. In this case its called “My New Vault”. You also see, that it is unlocked. This because you entered in step 8 the password to unlock. Now lets access the folder/vault by hitting “Reveal Drive”.
  11. In your Finder you now see that Cryptomator App opened the drive to you. This is similar to put a USB stick and then Finder shows you the USB stick content. Of course, because you just created the Vault, its empty apart from the Welcome.rtf. I recommend to read the Welcome.rtf.
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About this How To Create An iCloud Cryptomator Vault On Mac

With this How To Create An iCloud Cryptomator Vault On Mac you have a short version in your hand. If you like to go thru a more extended version, click on  How To Secure Data In iCloud only focusing on creating a Vault.