Files
A files channel is a shared folder for a room. It works like a file browser: folders, a list or grid view, sorting, previews of pictures and videos, and uploads with a button or by dragging files in.
Working with files
Section titled “Working with files”Open a file’s menu (right-click, ⋯, or press and hold) to download, rename, move or delete it. Folders work the same way. Downloads only start when you choose the download icon, and SVG images are never opened in the app, only downloaded, because they can contain code.
How much a channel can hold is set by the room and the node. Members need the permission to attach files to upload.
Encrypted files channels
Section titled “Encrypted files channels”New files channels are end-to-end encrypted unless the person who creates them unticks it. Files are encrypted on your device before they leave it, together with their names and folder names. The node stores only encrypted data and sizes; it cannot see what the files are called or what they contain.
Because the node cannot read the names, the search box filters only the open folder. The search panel of the app still finds files of encrypted channels through the search index on your device. A channel’s encryption is fixed: to change it, create a new files channel and upload the files again.
Files channels without encryption show a permanent banner saying that their files are not end-to-end encrypted.
Your own storage
Section titled “Your own storage”If the node allows it, a room can keep a files channel on a storage of its own: a WebDAV share (a Nextcloud, for example) or an S3-compatible bucket. Members who manage the room’s channels and files choose the store in the channel’s settings, before the first upload. An encrypted channel stays encrypted there: the store only ever sees ciphertext, never file names or contents.
Your own uploads
Section titled “Your own uploads”Your files in the toolbar lists everything you uploaded to the channel, with sizes and dates. You can delete your uploads there even when this device cannot decrypt them, so lost keys never leave your files on the node.
Attachments in messages
Section titled “Attachments in messages”Files you attach to messages belong to the message, not to a files channel. A node or a room may delete attachments after a number of days; the message then shows “file expired”. Files of pinned messages are kept.