Can government access my journal even if it’s end-to-end encrypted?
-
I understand that DayOne end-to-end encrypts my journal, also doesn’t store the key. Overall sounds good.
However, by default, DayOne stores the key in iCloud (or Google Drive). Per Apple, some of the iCloud data is not end-to-end encrypted (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202303). So depending on where DayOne stores the key, there is a possibility that the journal can be decrypted following the legal process.
Where in the iCloud does DayOne store the key? Is it in iCloud Keychain (always end-to-end encrypted), or somewhere else, such as iCloud Drive or iCloud Backup (not end-to-end encrypted by default) ?
-
Thanks so much for the question.
When we store the key in iCloud it is stored in CloudKit. Before we put it there we we encrypt it with a derived key. So if someone was able to gain access to the key saved in iCloud they would still need to be able to decrypt before it could be used.
-
Thanks for the explanation.
| Before we put it there we we encrypt it with a derived key.
Where is this derived key from? If this is DayOne’s possession, there is still a way to decode encrypted journals.
-
Hello @inyeollee! Great question.
The derived key is derived from account metadata. However, Day One has nothing to decrypt with that key. The encrypted key itself is stored in the user’s private iCloud storage, and we never send it to Day One servers. Therefore, we still can’t access your encryption key.
-
“When we store the key in iCloud it is stored in CloudKit.”
Is it stored in CloudKit as an encrypted field? It looks like CloudKit allows you to specify which data is encrypted.
-
Hi @skerfymcmurphy. Yes! We store the encryption key in CloudKit in an encrypted form so that Apple cannot read it, but your other devices can still access it.
-
Day One Forums 