# Ente Cloud Storage (Photos + Locker) vs. Filen: Which Offers More Privacy? **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/ente-cloud-storage-photos-locker-vs-filen-which-offers-more-privacy/33100 **Category:** Questions **Tags:** providers **Created:** 2025-11-22T15:00:24Z **Posts:** 38 ## Post 1 by @night_driver — 2025-11-22T15:00:24Z I’m considering taking a paid plan for cloud storage to keep a copy of all my data (photos, videos, and documents) on cloud. This Black Friday, I want to buy a lifetime plan for Filen, or even an annual plan would be better. During a discussion, my friends mentioned that Ente uses stronger encryption than any zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage like Filen. They showed me some screenshots from AI chats claiming that Ente employs stronger encryption. Moreover, they mentioned that Ente has been audited multiple times, making it far better than Filen at least in terms of privacy. These conversations have made me rethink my choice. I don’t want to use dedicated encryption software this time, so I decided to go with any client-side encrypted (basically zero-knowledge encrypted) options such as Filen or Tresorit or Proton Drive. Mostly, my data consists of photos, videos, and some important documents. The Ente Locker app has been released on the Play Store as early access, so I have two options: either go with Ente Photos and Ente Locker together or go with a dedicated client-side encrypted cloud storage. ## **My main priority is privacy; price is not a consideration factor here. So, what should I choose for better privacy?** #### Commonly Suggested Solutions and My Reasons for Not Using Them - **Why not self-hosting?** I don’t feel too comfortable with self-hosting, so even if I choose Ente, I’ll never self-host it. - **Why not a physical storage without any online dependency?** I already maintain a copy of my entire data on an external HDD. However, due to the need to access it from anywhere without carrying an external device, I’m planning to use a cloud-based service this time. --- ## Post 2 by @PaleCrow55 — 2025-11-22T15:05:07Z > [@night_driver](#): > > They showed me some screenshots from AI chats claiming that Ente employs stronger encryption. :grimacing: --- ## Post 3 by @night_driver — 2025-11-22T15:15:28Z Sorry, I don’t understand. What happened? --- ## Post 4 by @PaleCrow55 — 2025-11-22T15:16:18Z An unsubstantiated claim by an LLM. --- ## Post 5 by @night_driver — 2025-11-22T15:19:31Z I also thought that an encrypted cloud storage service can’t provide weaker privacy than a service like Ente Photos, even if the latter has undergone audits. Either both are equal in privacy, or cloud storage options are more private. Still, I have some doubts in my mind, which is why I made this post. --- ## Post 6 by @user1 — 2025-11-22T15:27:47Z We have recommendations > **[The Best Private and Secure Cloud Storage Providers - Privacy Guides](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/cloud/)** > > Many cloud storage providers require your trust that they will not look at your files. These are private alternatives! --- ## Post 7 by @night_driver — 2025-11-22T15:44:06Z I’ve seen that. I couldn’t go with these options because: - **Proton Drive** falls under the Proton ecosystem, and I don’t want to use multiple products from one provider. I rely heavily on ProtonMail, so I didn’t choose it. - **Tresorit** is owned by Swiss Post, and the situation in Switzerland is not very stable; that’s why Proton is already planning to shift from there. - Due to its less popularity, I don’t want to use **Peergos**. I’m already trying the Psono password manager based on PG’s recommendation, and it feels like I’m using an app from 2015 or earlier, so I don’t want to feel the same here. According to the team, Filen is not on their recommendation list because they still haven’t undergone a third-party audit. I’m quite hopeful that they will do it soon, so I’m choosing it. > [@Filen.io (Encrypted Cloud Storage)](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/filen-io-encrypted-cloud-storage/19222/2): > > Filen does not meet the following [minimum requirement](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/cloud/#minimum-requirements): Must use standard, audited encryption.[[1]](#footnote-49005-1) There was a [pull request](https://github.com/privacyguides/privacyguides.org/pull/345) in late 2021 to add Filen, but it was [rejected](https://github.com/privacyguides/privacyguides.org/pull/345#issuecomment-988808084) on the basis that it did not undergo an external audit. That was still the case in [2023](https://github.com/privacyguides/privacyguides.org/pull/345#issuecomment-1386781991). This is still the case in 2024, per FIlen’s [support](https://filen.io/support) page: Will there be an official security audit? Yes, to give our users a further sense of security, Filen will be tested by an external company in the near future. As of today, we c… --- ## Post 8 by @ignoramous — 2025-11-22T15:44:55Z > [@night_driver](#): > > Either both are equal in privacy, or cloud storage options are more private. Of course, no two e2ee protocols / features / apps are created equal. There will be differences, sometimes subtle even (as it is with all cryptography, whose guarantees are broken even due to the slightest misuse). You’d have an easier time if someone (preferably multiple independent experts) had already put in the effort to compare / review the two. For now, in the matters of e2ee, it might be a bit too premature to rely on a LLM (like [Devin](https://deepwiki.com/ente-io/ente) or [Copilot](https://github.com/copilot?prompt=https://github.com/ente-io/ente)) for crypto-analysis of the codebases (unless you know how to prompt and what to look for), though it is definitely worth a try, and you may use it as a hint and then _you_ draft questions to the app developers (I imagine they’ll otherwise get annoyed if the questionnaire was itself authored by a LLM). That said, since _Ente Locker_ is not meant to be a generic Drive (they’re giving it away for free for whoever is on _Photos_ paid plan), I’d not use it as such: [Ente Locker - New app from Ente - #19 by vishnukvmd](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/ente-locker-new-app-from-ente/33048/19) Additionally, specifically since you’re worried about privacy, you may want to consult the respective privacy policies ([ente](https://ente.io/privacy)) and ToS ([ente](https://ente.io/terms/)). The best bet of course is to self-host a solution yourself (possible with Ente, and I believe they have plans to make self-hosting “1-click”), but that brings with it its own effort & head-aches. --- ## Post 9 by @Robin_RM — 2025-11-23T02:26:15Z > [@night_driver](#): > > According to the team, Filen is not on their recommendation list because they still haven’t undergone a third-party audit. I’m quite hopeful that they will do it soon, so I’m choosing it. They plan to [conduct a security audit](https://filen.io/hub/roadmap/) after they finish rewriting their applications and integrating Rust. --- ## Post 10 by @anon19752758 — 2025-11-23T09:17:19Z > Tresorit is owned by Swiss Post, and the situation in Switzerland is not very stable; that’s why Proton is already planning to shift from there. I’d personally argue that for you as a customer this is less of a concern in the short or medium term as Switzerland is a notoriously slow country and such changes would not be likely to come into effect sooner than 5-10 years. And those 5-10 years are a long time in the tech world. Who knows what would happen in the meantime. Proton of course has to plan more into the future being a business but you also never know what the EU is going to do especially looking at Chatcontrol. --- ## Post 11 by @landordragen — 2025-11-23T09:31:18Z It has been about two years now that Filen has been saying it will conduct a security audit, and so far nothing has happened. I am well aware that such processes are costly and time-consuming, but I have been placing less and less trust in their word. --- ## Post 12 by @any1 — 2025-11-23T11:34:07Z In the past, the general tendency toward lifetime subscriptions on this forum have not been positive.I also think Jonah specifically said to avoid the Filen lifetime plan, but I’m not 100% sure I remember correctly. What about instead using something like [Hetzner’s Storage Box](https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-box) and restic to have an external backup that is also encrypted locally so you don’t have to trust the hosting provider? --- ## Post 13 by @nuptials8572 — 2025-11-23T17:34:17Z Filen sucks ass, especially their new mobile app, sure, its cheap (100GB for 50$ until the end of your life is a really good deal), but for everyday use and photo-syncing it falls behind Ente. --- ## Post 14 by @night_driver — 2025-11-23T17:43:08Z Thanks for clarifying these in such an easy way. I understand that all of these services are different from each other and shouldn’t be compared, at least from a privacy perspective. However, since I’m going to take a subscription, I want to ensure I don’t regret not choosing the one with better privacy later on. > For now, in the matters of e2ee, it might be a bit too premature to rely on a LLM (like [Devin](https://deepwiki.com/ente-io/ente) or [Copilot](https://github.com/copilot?prompt=https://github.com/ente-io/ente)) for crypto-analysis of the codebases (unless you know how to prompt and what to look for), though it is definitely worth a try, and you may use it as a hint and then _you_ draft questions to the app developers (I imagine they’ll otherwise get annoyed if the questionnaire was itself authored by a LLM). Have you mentioned this for Ente? I heard they use a local AI in their Photos app for face recognition. I still haven’t had a chance to try out Ente Locker, but I heard it’s made for storing documents only. Since I’m planning to take a paid plan for any encrypted cloud storage, I thought, why not Ente? Ente Photos has better photo management, and documents can be saved in Ente Locker, so together, these two services work nearly like a cloud storage solution. It might sound weird, but I’ve never read the privacy policies and TOS of any privacy-focused service. If multiple users recommend it and I see a sustainable future in them, I trust the services. I’m extremely sorry for that. Again, that could be the best bet, but unfortunately, I don’t feel too comfortable hosting my own server. I have used NAS before, and I believe remote access is the most risky option if there’s a lack of proper knowledge, so I avoid self-hosting (although there are other minor reasons too). At last, I want your suggestion: if you were me and had to choose a paid option between Ente Photos + Ente Locker and any client-side or zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage, what would you choose if your main priority were privacy? --- ## Post 15 by @anon51983832 — 2025-11-23T17:44:56Z But Filen can also be used to upload any type of file. Moreover, it works on any platform. I use it on iPad, Ubuntu, Windows, Mac, and Android. It is much smoother than Proton Drive, rarely gives errors, and syncs very quickly. --- ## Post 16 by @kissu — 2025-11-23T18:57:19Z > [@night_driver](#): > > **Proton Drive** falls under the Proton ecosystem, and I don’t want to use multiple products from one provider. I rely heavily on ProtonMail, so I didn’t choose it. I can understand this one, it’s fair. > [@night_driver](#): > > **Tresorit** is owned by Swiss Post, and the situation in Switzerland is not very stable; that’s why Proton is already planning to shift from there. The same could be told about any service tbh. If tomorrow, you use a product but the country they are based in becomes hostile to people liking their privacy, will you move away from them? Alright, at some point you’ll be out of either countries or services that are good/reliable. > [@night_driver](#): > > Due to its less popularity, I don’t want to use **Peergos**. I’m already trying the Psono password manager based on PG’s recommendation, and it feels like I’m using an app from 2015 or earlier, so I don’t want to feel the same here. I think that saying no to a product because of it’s UI is being maybe “picky”? I do understand that you want the best but: - small company that is not Proton/other well-known - accessible in terms of price - good looking UI + usable UX - not in a politically volatile country - not willing to self-host that’s a lot of filters that definitely limit your possibilities. And I think that giving a pass to a half-decent UI is the least worst in this scenario. * * * You could always buy an off the shelf NAS, like Synology maybe? That way, no need to “self-host” from A to Z, just plug and play yet would check most of the boxes[[1]](#footnote-123186-1)? * * * EDIT: also, the title says “Which offers more privacy?” I do think that a trustworthy and reliable company that is in the business for years is also a more stable decision as a whole. The hottest and latest kid in town is maybe not the one you want to bet on with your data, especially when it comes down to commiting to something long term. What will you do if Filen bankrupts or the sorts? Will you be fine migrating over to somebody else? Also, who will it be then? Sometimes, boring is the safest/best when it comes down to this topic. A fair comparison would be: choosing your first car for the next 10 years. Do you trust Wolkswagen or [insert fancy brand new EV company] for your next purchase? * * * 1. even if loosing quite a lot of control, no FOSS and relying on a company but it’s maybe safer/better? [↩︎](#footnote-ref-123186-1) --- ## Post 17 by @night_driver — 2025-11-24T05:46:42Z Yes, you are absolutely right. The ongoing revolution regarding privacy can’t guarantee anything for the future. However, that’s not the only reason I avoid Tresorit. I admit that it’s a highly sustained service that has survived for 14 years, but I don’t like government involvement in any privacy service. While Switzerland might be known for its strong laws and regulations regarding user privacy, I still don’t trust any government enough to feel comfortable using a service owned by government entities. --- ## Post 18 by @night_driver — 2025-11-24T05:57:45Z Lifetime plans are never good for sustainability. Still, I need to consider my budget alongside better privacy, so I’m looking at those lifetime deals. The Black Friday sale for Filen has started, but the lifetime plans don’t have attractive discounts. I may opt for annual plans if I decide to proceed. Thanks for your suggestion. Hetzner’s Storage Box is an S3 storage provider, I believe. S3 storages are not mainstream till now, so I don’t want to take risk of my data for it. --- ## Post 19 by @night_driver — 2025-11-24T06:00:33Z Yes, I’ve heard that from many users. There is an ongoing issue regarding background uploads, though personally, I haven’t encountered it yet. Perhaps I’ve tested it with a smaller amount of data, so there hasn’t been a need for background uploads. --- ## Post 20 by @night_driver — 2025-11-24T06:08:57Z My data consists only of photos, videos, and some important documents. I know we can store any type of data on cloud storage, but I wouldn’t upload any other types of files there. That’s why this privacy question has arisen in my mind. I can manage my data with either Ente Photos + Ente Locker (with paid plans) or any client-side encrypted cloud storage. Since I always prioritize privacy and don’t have enough knowledge, I asked here. There are very few options for zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage, and among them, I feel Filen, Proton Drive, and Sync are the most recommended services. I initially thought to go with Proton Drive, but I found ProtonMail to be very handy for managing my mailboxes. Since I don’t want to keep my data and emails with a single provider, I didn’t choose it. --- ## Post 21 by @kissu — 2025-11-24T08:35:55Z > [@night_driver](#): > > S3 storages are not mainstream till now I do think that it’s a very stable place to store any kind of file given how popular and compatible it is. Everybody has a layer of compatibility with it if not a 100% support out of the gate. Only thing is to encrypt it before shipping it to the cloud. :+1:t2: > [@night_driver](#): > > The Black Friday sale for Filen has started, but the lifetime plans don’t have attractive discounts. I may opt for annual plans if I decide to proceed. Indeed, don’t plan according to this week’s deals but thing about the long term. A yearly plan to try out the product sounds like an amazing idea all along before committing fully to it! :+1:t2: > [@night_driver](#): > > I wouldn’t upload any other types of files there I think that there is not a lot more after photos + videos + documents. :blush: > [@night_driver](#): > > There are very few options for zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage Issue will always be the same, you hope that: - companies do what they advertise - they won’t ever have anything serious even tho, they probably are targets to a lot of daily attacks - they won’t bankrupt because of some unlucky accident or some poor decision making On the other side, if money and learning are also limiting factors, I guess that it doesn’t leave much more else than buying an off-the-shelf from QNAP, Synology, Ubiquiti or alike. :confused: --- ## Post 22 by @night_driver — 2025-11-24T10:10:39Z > [@kissu](#): > > The same could be told about any service tbh. If tomorrow, you use a product but the country they are based in becomes hostile to people liking their privacy, will you move away from them? Alright, at some point you’ll be out of either countries or services that are good/reliable. That’s not the only reason I avoid Tresorit. I admit that it’s a highly sustained service that has been operating for 14 years, but I don’t like having government involvement in any privacy service. While Switzerland is known for its strong laws and regulations regarding user privacy, I still don’t trust any government enough to feel comfortable using a service owned by a government entity. Proton operates out of Switzerland, and they can shift to another country if they choose, but I don’t think Tresorit has this flexibility due to being owned by Swiss Post. > [@kissu](#): > > I think that saying no to a product because of it’s UI is being maybe “picky”? > I do understand that you want the best but: > > - small company that is not Proton/other well-known > - accessible in terms of price > - good looking UI + usable UX > - not in a politically volatile country > - not willing to self-host > > that’s a lot of filters that definitely limit your possibilities. > And I think that giving a pass to a half-decent UI is the least worst in this scenario. - I’m okay with any company as long as they maintain transparency and have good encryption. Personally, I follow the idea of not putting all my eggs in one basket, so I always try not to use multiple services from one provider, unless they are linked with each other, like Mail and Calendar. - Price is not a deciding factor for me; if the service is on the costlier side, I’d start saving to take their paid plan, but I’m not ready to compromise even an inch on my privacy. - It’s not good-looking, but usable. The autofill feature of the Psono password manager has never worked for me; I tried it on different mobile devices, and the results were the same. In the world of passphrases, it only generates passwords, lacks a dedicated app lock. - As long as the service is client-side encrypted or zero-knowledge encrypted, I don’t care which country they operate from. If you talk about Tresorit, well, that app is owned by the government, which is the only reason I’ve never used it. - As a beginner, I believe remote access is the most dangerous option if not configured properly. I’ve tried NAS before and might maintain a copy of my data on NAS in future, but I’ll never allow myself to access it remotely. I plan to try out Synology NAS if I get a chance. Even if I set it up, I’ll still keep these cloud services. Not a big fan of NAS, by the way. > [@kissu](#): > > The hottest and latest kid in town is maybe not the one you want to bet on with your data, especially when it comes down to commiting to something long term. > What will you do if Filen bankrupts or the sorts? Will you be fine migrating over to somebody else? Also, who will it be then? Actually, there was a mistake on my part. I didn’t want to compare Ente and Filen specifically, but rather Ente vs. any client-side encrypted cloud storage. This could include services like Proton Drive, Sync, Mega, Tresorit, or anything else (I’m not aware of other client-side encrypted cloud services). Ente is not a proper cloud storage solution, but it still offers end-to-end encryption. Since I’ll only be saving photos, videos, and some documents, choosing Ente is not a problem for me. However, I’m not aware of the level of privacy offered by Ente compared to other encrypted cloud services. While writing this post, many things were running through my mind, which is why I mentioned Filen, but I actually wanted to compare Ente with other client-side encrypted cloud storage options. Since I’m planning to buy a lifetime plan for Filen, I mentioned it mistakenly. --- ## Post 23 by @night_driver — 2025-11-24T10:51:09Z > [@kissu](#): > > encrypt it before shipping it to the cloud. That’s the reason I’m looking for a client-side encrypted service. Using encryption software is not on my list this time; I want to use a service where I don’t need to encrypt files separately myself. Initially, I thought about getting an external SSD to save a copy of my regularly used data, but later I realized that if I carry it separately, people might become curious about what types of data I’m keeping. So, I’ve decided to opt for encrypted cloud storage this time, allowing me to access my files whenever I want without the need to carry a separate device. Even if my mobile is lost, I can still access my data from another device. > [@kissu](#): > > Indeed, don’t plan according to this week’s deals but thing about the long term. > A yearly plan to try out the product sounds like an amazing idea all along before committing fully to it! :+1:t2: Yes, if I can make my decision within this time, then I might consider buying a lifetime plan (if needed). > [@kissu](#): > > I think that there is not a lot more after photos + videos + documents. :blush: Yes, but I’ll maintain a second cloud storage in the future where I’ll save a copy of my entire data. For now, I’ll keep images, videos, and documents in the cloud. The problems with client-side or zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storages are: - **Proton Drive** : Falls under the Proton ecosystem - **Sync** : A year ago, they removed all the encryption keywords from their website. I emailed them, but they didn’t provide any reason. - **Mega** : Has a shady history and lacks a dedicated storage plan. - **Tresorit** : Owned by the government, making it less flexible. - **Filen** : Relatively new, making it hard to trust—more like a gamble. I don’t know if any other options exist that offer client-side encryption or zero-knowledge encryption. So, I have to choose from the options mentioned. All other privacy-friendly cloud storages might offer this level of encryption but in separate vaults, while their regular storage uses standard encryption. Client-side encryption helps to trust the provider slightly more, as no one, including the provider, can access my data. --- ## Post 24 by @anon59241451 — 2025-11-24T11:30:13Z Have you considered [Cryptomator](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/encryption/#cryptomator-cloud)? --- ## Post 25 by @any1 — 2025-11-24T13:07:44Z > [@night_driver](#): > > Thanks for your suggestion. Hetzner’s Storage Box is an S3 storage provider, I believe. S3 storages are not mainstream till now, so I don’t want to take risk of my data for it. Hetzner Storage Box is not hosted on Amazon S3, nor does it support the S3 API. --- ## Post 26 by @night_driver — 2025-11-28T17:53:35Z Not this time. I’ll use encryption software when I upload a copy of my entire data to the cloud. The advantage of zero-knowledge storage is that the browser, mobile app, or desktop sync client acts as the encryption/decryption key. This allows you to view cloud-stored files without needing to download and decrypt them first, as would be required with a third-party encryption tool like Cryptomator. --- ## Post 27 by @night_driver — 2025-11-28T17:58:39Z Sorry, I don’t have much knowledge about S3 storage. Based on the per-hour pricing structure, I assumed it was an S3 storage provider. After spending time on their website and reading Reddit posts about it, I’m concluding that the best use for this service is for device backups and server backups. Since I don’t self-host, I don’t think it would be a good choice for me. Additionally, the setup might be more complex than simply using a cloud storage service. --- ## Post 28 by @anon92947183 — 2026-06-13T17:11:37Z Firstly, apologies if there is another topic on this. Discourse searching is bad/borderline abysmal. I’m using iOS. I’ve recently moved from Proton Drive to Ente, mainly because Proton Drive (imo) isn’t designed for photo storage (and certainly not retrieval with their dreadful lack of basic function to bulk download back to iOS. So, **Ente** : Does anyone know if there is a way (on iOS) to prevent the image caching? Ente is very quick to download full images into cache as well as thumbnails - even just after opening the app without scrolling. I’d rather it not. My (near) workaround is creating a “hidden” area which won’t cache unless going into the hidden area. But I don’t want to hide them! I just want an option not to cache BUT still remain searchable. This is clearly capable as searching still returns uncached images due to the math. Great. But don’t create the thumbnails and full remote images…! --- ## Post 29 by @anonymous595 — 2026-06-13T23:50:19Z I actually don’t like filen. They block SimpleLogin aliases (which is no-go for me) > **off topic** > > Can someone poke their support to unblock simplelogin? Maybe if there will be many reports they will reconsider block… Also they hate VPN and I do not trust my ISP at all to turn off my VPN even for a second. Without this they refuse to provide 10GB free. Free accounts inactive policy is 3 months, which is extremely low. It seems extremely shady for me for now --- ## Post 30 by @CarefulMouse — 2026-06-13T23:57:01Z > [@anonymous595](#): > > I actually don’t like filen. They block SimpleLogin aliases (which is no-go for me) Hmm. FWIW my email alias address for my (paid) plan is using the @simplelogin.com domain. --- ## Post 31 by @anon64387538 — 2026-06-14T00:17:06Z You are complaining about requirements they have for people who use the service for free, not the actual service itself. You can use the service paid for as low as $1 per month, which is unbelievably affordable. I used Filen about a year ago and only left because I will feel more comfortable with them after an audit. I’ll return once they get their audit done. The drive service was incredible, worked much much better than Proton at the time. The only issue was that the notes section was sometimes a little glitchy, but I’m not sure if they’ve fixed that. I signed up with an alias email and use always on VPN. It worked great. You are getting notes and drive for much cheaper than either one alone from Proton. It seems like a great offering to me. --- ## Post 32 by @anonymous595 — 2026-06-14T09:27:50Z > [@CarefulMouse](#): > > paid I also paid on SL. They rejected my subdomain and few more SL domains… > [@anon64387538](#): > > people who use the service for free, not the actual service itself Fine. Let’s try to sign up for paid plan with Proton VPN enabled, shall we? > **fail** > > ![388c21ef-406b-4f72-ad93-e89c03c4f798](https://forum-uploads.privacyguidesusercontent.com/original/3X/9/b/9be0b97d8e6025a6b876342328559e1bdf0d814e.jpeg) Well. They think I will disable VPN? I would like to, but I _do not_ trust my ISP. So let’s try from residential proxy! > **fail again** > > ![49f07a5b-28f1-4668-bdf7-fc93d6d8524e](https://forum-uploads.privacyguidesusercontent.com/original/3X/c/e/ce1a404c05957843254c0dab7c17c8e964b41a7a.jpeg) Now they blocked SimpleLogin alias. They want to have my main adress? Hell no! That’s not how privacy oriented service should work. --- ## Post 33 by @va3890hd — 2026-06-14T10:43:13Z For what it’s worth, I signed up to Filen with an email alias service ([addy.io](https://addy.io)) and a VPN connection (Mullvad) and didn’t encounter any issues. I am on a paid plan, maybe that makes a difference. Or maybe they introduced these restrictions some time after I signed up. --- ## Post 34 by @CarefulMouse — 2026-06-14T14:20:55Z > What is changing is one part of how new free accounts are created. We are doing this because abuse has grown to a point where it is starting to create real problems for the service and for regular users. > This post explains what is happening, why we are adjusting the system, and exactly who is affected. > **[An Update on Free Account Creation](https://filen.io/hub/an-update-on-free-account-creation/)** > > At Filen, we build cloud storage around a simple promise: strong privacy and security by default, with zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption at the core. > > That is not changing. > > What is changing is one part of how new free accounts are created. We are... --- ## Post 35 by @anonymous595 — 2026-06-15T13:47:10Z > [@anonymous595](#): > > I actually don’t like filen. Well, I was **wrong**. I contacted their support and they were very nice to me. They even offered to sign up from VPN and they will give 10GB manually. They said that situation with Simplelogin is under investigation, so once it got unblocked, I will no longer have any reasons to dislike them. --- ## Post 36 by @dixon — 2026-06-21T12:52:23Z It seems Filen doesn’t support WebAuthn or hardware keys (for example yubikey) --- ## Post 37 by @user1 — 2026-07-15T08:19:21Z > [@anon92947183](#): > > So, **Ente** : Does anyone know if there is a way (on iOS) to prevent the image caching? Ente is very quick to download full images into cache as well as thumbnails - even just after opening the app without scrolling. I’d rather it not. The [latest version](https://ente.com/help/photos/changelog) introduces automatic cache clean up. --- ## Post 38 by @anon92947183 — 2026-07-15T10:24:56Z Thanks for highlighting this. I’ll see how it goes. I’m not sure how it will work when not logging out, but at least they’ve introduced that.