DataLocker is a free app from AppSense that encrypts files and then lets you share them with Windows, Mac, iPhone and iPad via Dropbox. This is very useful if you have a few (or many) files on your Dropbox for which you’d like a little extra protection.

I downloaded the universal app on iTunes and installed it on both my iPhone and iPad. I requested the Mac version from the AppSense link above. (Awkward and archaic, I know.)

Here’s what I like about these apps:

  • Really easy to use. On the Mac, you just drop files you want encrypted onto the open app and specify a password.
  • The iOS app shows all your Dropbox folders and opens many file types.
  • You can put the encrypted files anywhere and move them around. You’re not restricted to putting them in a fixed or single folder location.
  • Each file is encrypted individually, not altogether into an opaque container. Again, this let’s you move them around even after you’ve encrypted them.

I have two suggestions for AppSense:

  • Let me drag and drop a folder name into the Mac app’s destination folder entry field.
  • Better yet, just encrypt the files in place.
  • You can drop folders into the “drop your files here” box on the Mac app. DataLocker than encrypts all the files and puts them into the destination folder. I would really like to drag a folder and subfolders and have DataLocker encrypt the files in place, preserving the original folder structure.

Did I mention that DataLocker is:

  • Free
  • Easy to use
  • Available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, and iPad
  • Works great with Dropbox

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