The Thumbnail Problem
Traditional cloud storage generates thumbnails on their servers. That means they must decrypt your photos first.
Traditional Cloud Storage
You upload encrypted photo
Server decrypts it to generate thumbnail
Provider sees your photo during this process
Thumbnail stored for browsing
Zero-knowledge broken
Nygma Solution
Client generates 3 thumbnail sizes on your device
Encrypts original + all thumbnails
Uploads encrypted blobs to server
Server never sees your photo
Zero-knowledge maintained
Step 1: Original
On your device
Your original photo
Step 2: Generate
3 thumbnail sizes
160x120
Grid view
480x360
Preview
1920x1080
Full screen
Step 3: Encrypt
All versions
Original.jpg.enc
Thumb_small.jpg.enc
Thumb_medium.jpg.enc
Thumb_large.jpg.enc
AES-256-GCM encryption
Keys never leave your device
Step 4: Upload
To Nygma Cloud
Encrypted blobs only
Server cannot see your photos
Zero-knowledge maintained
Fast browsing enabled
Privacy protected
Why This Matters
Traditional cloud storage must decrypt your photos on their servers to generate thumbnails. Nygma generates all thumbnails on your device before encryption, so we never see your content. You get fast browsing without compromising zero-knowledge security.
Three Thumbnail Sizes
Optimized for every viewing scenario, all generated client-side
Small (160x120)
Used For:
Grid view, file list
Benefit:
Quick recognition while browsing
Medium (480x360)
Used For:
Preview pane
Benefit:
Balance between quality and performance
Large (1920x1080)
Used For:
Full-screen preview
Benefit:
High-quality viewing without decrypting original
Small (160x120)
Grid view browsing
Medium (480x360)
Preview pane
Large (1920x1080)
Full-screen preview
Video Support
Browse encrypted videos with poster frame thumbnails
How Video Thumbnails Work
Poster frame extracted on your device
Thumbnail encrypted before upload
Full video remains encrypted
Download required to play (no server-side decryption)
Trade-off for Security:
Unlike traditional services, Nygma cannot stream videos directly because that would require server-side decryption. Videos must be downloaded first, maintaining true zero-knowledge.
Supported Formats
Images
Videos
Traditional vs Nygma
| Feature | Traditional Cloud | Nygma |
|---|---|---|
| Thumbnails generated | On server (sees your content) | On your device (before encryption) |
| Preview quality | Server-dependent | Full quality, client-side |
| Privacy | Provider can see images | Zero-knowledge maintained |
| Video streaming | Possible (server decrypts) | Full download required |