I spent months building a cloud storage where even I can't read your files. Here's why

Hey PH! I'm the solo founder of Sifero - here's why I built a cloud where even I can't read your files.

A few years ago I was working on a project that required storing sensitive documents. I looked at every "secure" cloud out there. ProtonDrive asked for my email. Tresorit cost a fortune. MEGA had a complicated legal history. Nextcloud required running my own server.

But the thing that bothered me most wasn't the price or the UX. It was this: every single one of them could read my files if they wanted to. They promised they wouldn't. But they could.

A court order. A rogue employee. A secret government request. A hostile acquisition. Any of these could turn a "trusted" service into a liability overnight.

So I spent the last several months building Sifero from scratch — alone, in Georgia, with no funding and no team.

The core idea was simple: encrypt everything in the browser before it ever leaves the device. Your password never reaches my servers. I store encrypted bytes that mean nothing without your key. Even if someone breaks into my infrastructure - they get garbage.

Along the way, some features appeared that I didn't originally plan but felt obvious once I committed to this architecture:

Decoy Mode - two passwords open two completely different vaults. One real, one convincing fake. For situations where someone forces you to log in.

Panic Wipe - one secret URL destroys everything instantly, no login required. Any device, anywhere.

Dead Man's Switch - if you don't check in within a set period, your data auto-destroys or a trusted contact gets notified.

Steganography - hide encrypted files inside normal PNG images. Even if found, they look like regular photos.

Encrypted Chat - private E2E encrypted chat rooms with self-destructing messages. Guests can join via anonymous link, no account needed. If you need to communicate with someone without leaving a trace, this is for that.

Legal Layer - every file can be timestamped on the Bitcoin blockchain via FreeTSA. Cryptographic proof that a file existed at a specific moment in time. Useful for journalists, lawyers, whistleblowers.

I launched payments last week. I don't know if this will work as a business. But I know that every week brings new headlines about another breach, another government demanding user data, another trusted service betraying its users.

Maybe some people need a cloud that doesn't just promise privacy. Maybe they need one where privacy is the architecture itself.

Happy to answer any questions - technical, business, or "why would anyone build this."

Ilia, founder of Sifero Cloud