Create a password-protected ZIP

How it works

1. Drop the files to lock. Documents, photos, spreadsheets: anything goes in.
2. Type a password, or press Generate for a strong one, and copy it somewhere safe. There is no way to open the ZIP without it.
3. Choose the encryption. Standard if the recipient will open it with what Windows already has; AES-256 if they use 7-Zip, WinRAR or similar and the contents matter.
4. Press Make locked ZIP, download it, and send the password by a different route from the file, such as a call or a chat message.

Frequently asked questions

Are the files or the password uploaded?

No. The ZIP is compressed and encrypted inside your browser. The files, the password and the finished ZIP never pass through a server, which matters for exactly the kind of file people lock.

Standard or AES-256: which should I choose?

It depends on who opens it. Standard is the classic ZIP encryption that Windows opens by itself when you double-click, so anyone can open it with the password. It is also an old scheme that cracking tools can break, especially with a short password. AES-256 is not practically breakable with a good password, but Windows cannot open it on its own: the recipient needs 7-Zip, WinRAR, Bandizip or a similar program. For payslips or contracts going to people you do not know, Standard with a long password is the usual compromise.

What makes a good password here?

Long and random. Generate makes fourteen characters with no look-alikes such as 0 and O, strong enough for either encryption and easy to read out over the phone. Use half-width letters, digits and symbols for Standard: Windows and other programs encode accented or Japanese characters differently, and the ZIP would not open for the recipient.

Is sending the password in the next email safe?

Hardly. Anyone who can read the first email can read the second. Send the password by another channel: a phone call, a text message, a chat app. Better still, agree on it in advance.

I forgot the password. Can you open the ZIP?

No, and nobody here can: the password is never sent anywhere. Keep a copy of the files you locked, or of the password, until you are sure the recipient has opened the ZIP.

Are file names hidden too?

No. ZIP encryption protects the contents; the names of the files inside remain readable to anyone who has the ZIP. If a name gives something away, rename the file before locking it.