Show HN: Side project turned startup - Online Privacy via Client-side encryption

Started working on the Social Fortress platform 7 months ago when there wasn't a solution that satisfied a need. Eventually turned it into a funded start-up and now it is live.

Social Fortress provides consumers with unparalleled privacy online by integrating transparent client-side encryption transparently into major social networks, webmail service providers and desktop email clients. Consumers’ data is encrypted prior to leaving their device and stays that way until it reaches the device of trusted contacts where decryption is also done on client devices.

Social Fortress protects messages and photos using AES 256 CTR method with rolling keys. No two messages or photos are encrypted with the same key. Social Fortress maintains the central key management server as well as the consumers relationship and authorization trees.

All of the encryption and decryption is done in the background, directly inline, so the end user experience on his or her favorite online communication platform does not change. Messages are stored wherever they would normally should be except they are protected with AES encryption every step of the way. Photos are stored encrypted in a separate data center with no access to the key management infrastructure.

It takes less than a minute to get Social Fortress, and it installs as a single browser plugin for web apps or application plugin in the case of Outlook or Thunderbird. We just launched into an open beta and would appreciate your feedback.

If you have any questions that are not answered on our site, we will be here to answer them.