Sovereign Vault
A local-first privacy vault designed to encrypt data with zero-knowledge cryptography directly in the browser, keeping sensitive information under the user's control.
Sovereign Vault
Project overview
Introduction
Sovereign Vault is a local-first privacy vault currently in active development, built with React, TypeScript, and the Web Crypto API as a Progressive Web App. It is designed to store sensitive data using zero-knowledge encryption, meaning encryption and decryption happen only on the user's own device.
The Problem
Most cloud storage and vault-style tools require trusting a third-party server with either the plaintext data or the encryption keys themselves, which makes that server a target for breaches or misuse and ties the tool to a persistent connection with it. A local-first design built on zero-knowledge encryption is meant to address both of these by keeping raw data and keys off any server the provider controls.
The Technology
Sovereign Vault is built on React and TypeScript, with the Web Crypto API handling cryptographic operations directly in the browser. As a Progressive Web App, it is installable and built around a local-first approach rather than continuous dependence on a backend server.
Key Features
- Local-First Storage: Data stays on the user's device rather than in a remote database.
- Zero-Knowledge Encryption: Encryption and decryption happen client-side via the Web Crypto API, so raw data is not exposed to any server.
- Progressive Web App: Installable and built to work without a constant connection.
- Vault-Style Data Model: Structured around storing and organizing sensitive records securely.
Challenges
Client-side, zero-knowledge encryption shifts key management onto the user: if the encryption key is lost, the data cannot be recovered by the vault or by its provider. This trade-off is a known, inherent challenge of zero-knowledge system design in general, not something specific to this project.
Development Approach
Sovereign Vault is Arranto's own in-development product, not a client engagement. Its repository is public on GitHub and under active iteration with ongoing commits; it has not yet been deployed for client or production use.
- Is Sovereign Vault live or available to use right now?
- Not yet. It's in active development as one of Arranto's own products, with a public GitHub repository and ongoing commits, but it has not been deployed for client or public use.
- What does "zero-knowledge encryption" mean in this context?
- Data is encrypted and decrypted client-side using the Web Crypto API, so the raw, unencrypted data is not sent to or stored on a remote server.
- What happens if I lose my encryption key or password?
- Because the vault is built around client-side, zero-knowledge encryption, losing the key means the data cannot be recovered by the vault itself. That trade-off is an inherent, well-known part of zero-knowledge system design in general.
- What is Sovereign Vault built with?
- React and TypeScript for the application, the Web Crypto API for the cryptographic operations, and it's structured as a Progressive Web App (PWA).
- Is this a project for a specific client?
- No. Sovereign Vault is Arranto's own in-development product, not a client engagement.
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