Why donate to something that's free?
The Encryption 1 Suite will always be free. It will never carry ads, sell data, or hide tools behind a "Pro" version. But "free to use" isn't the same as "free to run." Here's why it stays free, what it actually costs, and exactly where a donation goes.
A note from me
On October 1, 2026, Encryption 1 turned 30. I first released it in 1996 with a simple tagline: "Because your privacy is yours." Thirty years later, the tools have changed completely, but that idea hasn't. Your privacy is still yours.
That's the reason the Suite is free. I don't believe anyone should have to pay to protect their own messages, files, and passwords. Paying a monthly fee for your own privacy feels too much like paying rent to get into your own house. So there's no premium tier, no subscription, and nothing held back. Everyone gets every tool.
— The developer of Encryption 1
Copy it. Share it. That's the point.
Every tool in the Suite runs right in your browser, and the code is released under the MIT license. You can save a page, carry it on a USB stick, hand it to a friend, or take it to another country. I'm not trying to stop that. I'm hoping for it. A privacy tool that only some people can use isn't doing its job.
Free means no catch, not no cost
There's no premium tier, no feature paywall, and no account system that could be used to sell access or data. That's a deliberate choice. It also means the Suite doesn't have the usual ways a free web tool pays for itself: no ad network, no "we sell anonymized usage data" fine print, nothing like that.
So it runs on direct support
Domain registration and hosting are real, recurring bills, and they come out of pocket no matter how many people use the tools that month. Donations are simply the difference between this project being sustainable long-term and not.
Where the money actually goes
Real numbers, not vague estimates. This is the baseline cost just to keep the site online, shown in US dollars, the currency these bills are actually paid in.
What donations do — and don't — change
No matter what, every person gets exactly the same tools. Donating doesn't unlock anything, because there's nothing locked to begin with.
What donations fund
- Keeping the domain and hosting paid, uninterrupted, including the server behind Burn's one-time sharing
- Time spent building and testing new tools and features, so every tool in the Suite keeps getting better
- Translating the Suite into more languages, and keeping existing translations accurate and natural
- Independent security and legal reviews as the Suite grows
- Eventually, reaching more people through the kind of paid promotion mentioned above
What donations don't do
- Unlock extra features. No part of any tool is ever paywalled
- Remove ads. There are none to remove
- Change how your data is treated. Donors and non-donors get identical privacy: your files, messages, and passwords are encrypted in your browser, and the only tool that uses a server (Burn) stores only scrambled data it can't read
- Obligate you to anything. This page exists so the ask is transparent, not so it's expected
A donation keeps it free for someone else
If you can spare a few dollars, you're covering the cost for people who can't, or who need these tools more than most.
Can't donate? You can still help, for free
- Share the Suite with someone who could use it: a friend, a family member, a colleague who travels
- Follow and share our posts on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook
- Mention it to a journalist, teacher, or organization that cares about privacy
- Keep a copy on a USB stick, and pass it along
If you'd like to help keep it running
Any amount helps, and one-time support is just as welcome as ongoing. Thank you for even considering it, and thank you for using tools that don't ask for anything just to work.