Many users haven't hesitated to replace traditional office suites with free online alternatives like Google Docs and Office Online. The problem is that Mountain View and Redmond always get something extra from the documents we store there, and user privacy isn't exactly a priority. That's where options like CryptPad come in—it encrypts everything you write and store within its tools.
In my Google Docs profile I have thousands of texts saved, and if we set aside the lack of certain features or the disastrous (not to say nonexistent) technical support from Mountain View, I must admit it does its job. I never went back to installing Office, and I don't think things will change in the short term, but it would be a mistake on my part not to recognize that with my documents I am I am feeding some monster in the background.
This conflict extends to Microsoft's cloud, and to the vast majority of online services. The optimal solution in terms of privacy, anonymity, and security is obviously to ignore all clouds and adopt a local, free, open-source tool like LibreOffice. However, there is an online alternative that prioritizes user privacy, and it is CryptPad.
CryptPad: The Encrypted Alternative to Google Docs
While nothing stops you from using CryptPad without creating an account, you should know that everything you store in guest mode will remain on the servers for a maximum of 90 days. On the other hand, if you decide to get an account (it doesn't ask for names or email addresses), CryptPad will warn that it has no recovery support for the username and password, so be sure to save both values in a safe place (a manager, for example).
A full CryptPad user has access to a total of ten tools or pads: Pad (text), Sheet (spreadsheet), Code, Presentation (slides), Survey, Kanban, Whiteboard, File, Task list, and Contacts, plus CryptDrive, an equivalent to Google Drive. Everything you write in them, including edits to existing documents, will be encrypted by CryptPad before transmission, and no one can see the content.
CryptPad has collaborative features and offers a chat section to better coordinate each job. Each document has a unique link so you can share it with others, and only you define whether permissions are limited to viewing or if they receive authorization to edit. At the same time, changes are saved automatically in CryptDrive, reducing the possibility of data loss due to an Internet outage or an interruption in the electric power service.
All this sounds very good, but it doesn't mean CryptPad is perfect. The text editor drags some limitations regarding formatting adjustments, and the free version only gives us 50 megabytes of space in CryptDrive. On the other hand, CryptPad is private but not necessarily anonymous, since it gets records of our IP number (unless we use Tor) and collects basic telemetry like our screen size (it can be deactivated). If you think it's enough for you, don't hesitate to try it.
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