Suspicious Business Practices
I was thrilled to learn about a decentralized, end-to-end encrypted cloud storage service that didn't require divulging personally identifying data like credit card info and address details. For years, such personal data have been dangerously scooped up when companies' databases are hacked, putting consumers at risk. So I purchased a 1-year subscription to Opacity.io and began uploading my digital library to the cloud.
Immediately, there were problems. The upload was far too slow to be practical--but I could live with this since the encryption-and-"sharding" technology is supposed to make file storage even more secure. But other serious problems included not being able to rearrange files once they'd been uploaded, not being able to delete files or folders, files uploading out of order so you can't find them easily after, files not uploading at all...
Worse, less than a month into my 1-year pre-paid subscription, I lost access to all my files. I could neither log in via the desktop app nor access my files via the website. I reached out to support via one of their social media platforms. Support was very polite in public but via private email terse and dismissive. Consequently, nothing was resolved.
Recently, I searched Twitter for Opacity's contact, thinking to open a dialog there. But I couldn't find any activity after Feb 3rd, 2022--and that merely mentioning the company had come under cyber-attack. When I reached out to the company via Reddit with questions about why I could no longer access my files, my posts were immediately taken down. It seems I've been blocked from posting to their Reddit (tech) room.
Consumers should understand that this is the dark underside of decentralization and anonymity. When something goes wrong, we consumers may be left on our own with no way to be made whole. There are far more trustworthy E2EE cloud storage options with companies that respond productively to consumers when there's a problem. I strongly urge people to reconsider doing business with Opacity.