Specific features to look for from service providers

• zero-knowledge — this goes beyond E2EE, and ensures that the hosting organization can never access the data
  • While this does provide increased security, it also comes with a few drawbacks:
    • • loss of your password means complete loss of your data
        • while password resets are usually possible, they can never restore access to your old data, meaning you have to start over with a blank account
        • some services provide special recovery methods that can be used in case of emergencies
      • server-side deduplication is impossible which increases storage costs somewhat
  • In theory, this also means that law enforcement can never access your data, even with a search warrant. However, given the number of security vulnerabilities that law enforcement has access to [1] [2] [3] [4] [5], I would NEVER rely on any internet-based data being truly secure from the US government or other state actors. Heck, air-gapped computers aren't even secure if someone is really interested in you. [6] [7] [8]
• E2EE — ensures that only the hosting organization and the end user are able to access the data