What Is End-to-End Encryption?
A complete guide to E2EE — how it works, why it matters, and how LockNKey uses it to protect your conversations.
What Is End-to-End Encryption?
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a security method that ensures only the sender and receiver can read a message. When you send an encrypted message, it gets scrambled into unreadable code on your device. Only the person you sent it to has the key to unscramble it.
Not even the service provider — in our case, LockNKey — can read your messages. The data travels across the internet in encrypted form and is only decrypted on the recipient's device.
How Does E2EE Work?
When you create a vault on LockNKey, the following happens:
- Key Generation: A random encryption key is generated on your device.
- Key Wrapping: This key is encrypted using your password via PBKDF2 (210,000 iterations) and AES-256-GCM.
- Encrypted Storage: Only the wrapped (encrypted) key is stored on our servers.
- Message Encryption: Every message you send is encrypted with the key before leaving your device.
- Decryption: Only someone with the correct password can unwrap the key and read the messages.
At no point does LockNKey have access to your encryption key or your plaintext messages.
Why Does E2EE Matter?
Without E2EE, your messages are stored in plain text on servers. This means:
- Server administrators could read your messages
- A data breach could expose all conversations
- Government agencies could request access to your data
- Hackers could intercept messages in transit
With E2EE, even if our servers are compromised, your messages remain encrypted and unreadable.
E2EE vs Regular Encryption
Many services claim to use "encryption" but this usually means encryption in transit (TLS/HTTPS). This protects your data while it travels across the internet but not while it's stored on servers.
E2EE goes further — your data is encrypted on your device and only decrypted on the recipient's device. The server only ever sees encrypted gibberish.
How LockNKey Implements E2EE
LockNKey uses industry-standard cryptographic algorithms:
- AES-256-GCM for message encryption
- PBKDF2 with 210,000 iterations for key derivation
- SHA-256 for hashing
- 12-byte random IVs for each encryption operation
Your vault key never leaves your device in usable form. We store only the wrapped version, which can only be unlocked with your password.
The Bottom Line
E2EE is the gold standard for private communication. It puts you in control of your data and ensures that your conversations remain truly private — not just "private" in name only.