Cloud storage is a big deal these days. Many consumers want to have access while on the go to all their precious data. Unfortunately, this inherently adds a level of risk. Having files on non-local storage means that a hack of your cloud provider also means full access to your photos, documents, and files.
Hide in Cloud attempts to solve this issue on Android. The app offers a unique solution to keep your data safe while still utilizing the cloud.
How’s it work?
Well, Hide in Cloud is fairly similar to most cloud upload services. The catch is that it uses encryption combined with an existing cloud provider for the actual storage. This ultimately makes Hide in Cloud more of an encryption service rather than a cloud-based locker.
Setup
Getting going with Hide in Cloud is easy. First, you want to head over to the Google Play Store and install the application for your phone. Next, you’ll immediately be prompted to link your Google Drive account. While it kind of defeats the purpose of the app you can skip this and have secured files locally on the phone.
After choosing to allow access to Google, Hide in Cloud then walk you through a wizard of suggestions and permission requests for storage access. A few more screens later, then you have an app ready to hide your files behind encryption in the cloud.
Unique options
Hide in Cloud offers some interesting tweaks that make it a solid choice. You can set your security levels based on PIN code, pattern lock, or biometric fingerprint. These are great interaction levels that add another layer of security.
Another creative way to keep your files secret is Calculator Mode. This takes things one step further and replaces the default Hide in Cloud app icon in the launcher with a Calculator icon instead. With Calculator Mode you have no real indications to a casual guest user that the Hide in Cloud is even installed short of digging in the Settings menu.
Well done niche app
Look, Hide in Cloud isn’t for everyone. It’s servicing a small subset of users who are either uber paranoid or want to add encryption to a cloud provider they are already paying to use. Most users probably aren’t looking to hide files on their devices much less in the cloud.
Either way, Hide in Cloud does a good job of accomplishing this task. The app is well laid out in a Material design and has a superb startup wizard to walk you through setup. It’s currently limited to only Google Drive, but I believe the developer is working on additional providers.
