Rabbithole has launched an early version of a sovereign encrypted file vault on the Internet Computer, with the project focused on giving users greater control over where their files are stored and how they are accessed.
The system gives each user a personal storage canister on the Internet Computer. According to Rabbithole, the canister can serve its own frontend and, after setup, control of the storage canister is transferred to the user. This means Rabbithole is designed to remain a service around the vault rather than the owner of the underlying storage.
A central part of the system is encryption before upload. Files are encrypted on the user’s device before leaving the browser, while the storage layer works with encrypted data rather than readable file contents. Rabbithole’s documentation says file keys are derived when access is required through vetKeys, rather than being kept ready in the vault or by the service.
The platform also supports sharing while retaining its encryption model. Users can share an entire vault, a folder or an individual file, with permissions including View, Edit and Manage. Rather than creating a separate copy of a file for each user, access is handled through permissions.
Authentication is handled through Internet Identity, with support for passkeys, biometrics and supported social login options. Rabbithole says it does not maintain a separate password database.
The project currently supports both on-chain storage for encrypted file bytes and Blob Storage under the same access and encryption model. Its wider architecture uses per-user storage canisters, Stable Memory for file records and metadata, vetKeys for file-key derivation, and Internet Identity for authentication and access management.
Rabbithole also includes features beyond file storage. The project documentation describes multichain payment support across the Internet Computer, Base and Solana, along with managed cycles top-ups for Pro vaults. The platform uses Chain Fusion components for supported assets and has been developing its own storage canister management and update system.
The approach is intended to reduce the service’s role in controlling a user’s data. Rabbithole’s developer has acknowledged that the model still depends on factors including the browser, the Internet Computer protocol, code correctness, cycles and the availability of Blob Storage. The stated goal is therefore to move control closer to the user rather than remove every trust assumption.
The project has also been shaped by earlier versions of the same idea. According to its developer, an initial encrypted storage project was built on Blockstack in 2019, followed by a private Internet Computer version in 2023. The current version was developed after improvements to areas including Stable Memory, Motoko libraries, vetKeys and Chain Fusion made the architecture more practical.
Rabbithole is still being developed, and the project has been open about areas that require further work. Proposed development directions include WebSocket support, improved Blob Storage management, more granular access rights, additional recovery options and email or Telegram notifications.
The developer has also said that Rabbithole is aimed at users who place greater value on privacy, encryption and ownership of their storage than on competing with mainstream cloud services on price or convenience. The project does not currently present itself as a replacement for services such as Google Drive for users who simply need free file sharing.
The early version is available through Rabbithole, with technical documentation providing further detail on its encryption model, ownership structure and use of Internet Computer features.
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