NordLocker Review: Slick, Simple, and Shareable Encryption

Suppose you walk away from your computer without locking it or logging out: Just how much secret information could a snoop discover? If you've carefully encrypted your most important files, they might leave empty-handed. NordLocker, from the makers of NordVPN , stores all your sensitive data in an encrypted cloud locker. The latest version drops the option to encrypt files and folders directly on your local disk, but the service remains extremely easy to use, and its secure sharing is more flexible than most. Even so, our Editors' Choice apps for encryption remain AxCrypt Premium and Xecrets Ez Premium . These two are 100% compatible, which is no surprise, as they have the same author. Xecrets costs much less than Nord, while AxCrypt has more corporate polish.

Background: What Is Encryption?

Let's take a step back for a moment before we delve into how NordLocker implements encryption and provide some background on encryption. Since the dawn of communication, people have sought ways to conceal their messages. Simple substitution ciphers go back to the days of the Romans, and before. Such ciphers are easy to crack using techniques such as checking letter frequency and identifying common patterns. More recent, but also historical, is the one-time pad, a totally uncrackable encryption system. Really!

The concept is simple. You and your associate each have access to a unique random key that's at least as long as the message to be encrypted. You use a simple, reversible XOR algorithm to combine the message with the key, then send the encrypted message. Your associate applies the key again to decrypt the message. And then—this is important—you both destroy the key. Picture tearing the top sheet from a pad of keys and burning it. For the next message, you use the next key.

With each key unique and at least the length of the plaintext, no analysis could discern letter frequency or find common patterns. It's truly uncrackable. It's also a pain to implement.

In the modern world, we need encryption that can be applied rapidly and efficiently. It doesn't have to be impossible to crack, just difficult enough that it can't be done in non-geological time. That describes the official encryption algorithm of the US Government, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) . Bruce Schneier's Blowfish algorithm is another widely used and robust method.

Pricing: Plans, Storage Tiers, and Competitor Value

What you pay for NordLocker depends on what you want from it. At no cost and without needing to register a credit card, you can get a free account with 3GB of cloud storage for your confidential files. Upgrading to a paid account raises your storage to 500GB and adds priority tech support. That'll cost you $59.88 per year. At $55 per year, EncryptPro runs about the same. AxCrypt costs a little less, at $47 per year, and the premium edition of Xecrets Ez is just $15 per year.

If you're paying for NordLocker and your cloud-stored files approach the 500GB limit, you can pay more for additional storage. For $179.88 per year, you pump up your storage to a full 2TB. This antivirus-style subscription model is less common in the world of encryption products. Cypherix Cryptainer PE , Cypherix SecureIT , Folder Lock , CryptoForge , and others are available for a one-time fee ranging from approximately $30 to $60. Of course, these products don't incur the ongoing expense of maintaining servers to store your data.

Even if you don't choose a free account for yourself, the existence of that free tier is important. Full-scale secure file sharing requires that both you and the recipient have NordLocker installed. Free users don't have much cloud storage, but folders shared by others don't count against the total. EncryptPro and Xecrets Ez have a free tier, and AxCrypt provides a free viewer app that just decrypts files for viewing.

Encryption Technology: How NordLocker Secures Your Data

You can rest assured that NordLocker uses top-notch encryption, specifically AES-256, supported by a comprehensive suite of technology to enhance and secure the process. Fortunately, you don't have to know what xChaCha20-Poly1305 or Ed25519 are. NordLocker is super easy to use.

Most of the products we've reviewed either rely strictly on AES256 or offer it as an option. Intercrypto's Advanced Encryption Package lets you choose from AES or 16 other encryption algorithms, which may leave your head spinning. AxCrypt relies on AES for encryption and uses public key cryptography for secure sharing. With CryptoForge, you can use up to four different algorithms, each taking the encrypted output of the previous one as input.

In July of 2026, Nord Security's developers revealed a change to the encryption architecture. Features that are endangered by quantum computing are isolated in their own code layer, so they can be easily swapped out when true post-quantum encryption becomes necessary. This change comes as part of Nord's Project Renaissance, which also includes a major overhaul of how files and folders are handled. Previously, changing a single file in a folder required decrypting the entire folder. In the new architecture, each file change becomes a small event in a larger journaling system. Details aside, the changes should seriously improve NordLocker's performance.

Account Setup: Getting Started With NordLocker

Anyone can create a free NordLocker account and start using encrypted cloud storage immediately. If you're thinking of adding NordLocker to your security arsenal, I'd strongly advise starting with a free account. You get all the features, so you can get a feeling for how you like the app before you commit to paying for it.

In addition to an overall account password, you separately define a key that opens your lockers. By observation, these can be the same. NordLocker rates your password strength as you type. Be sure to choose a  strong NordLocker Key , something that you can remember but that others cannot guess.

If you do manage to forget that key, all is not lost. During setup, NordLocker generates a 25-character recovery key, composed of numbers and capital letters, and advises you to store it in a secure location. I'd suggest printing it out and putting it in your fireproof lockbox. You do have a fireproof lockbox, don't you? Note that changing your master password, perhaps to make it more secure, requires you to use this recovery key. To complete account creation, you must check a box acknowledging you've been warned that if you lose both the master password and the recovery key, you will be irrevocably locked out of your files.

NordLocker originally created encrypted storage lockers on your local device, using the cloud just for sharing, but last year, the developers removed the local locker option. With local lockers no longer available, NordLocker is now strictly a secure cloud storage service. The NordLocker online dashboard has a layout familiar to most users. A column near the left lists your cloud locker and the folders it contains. A large central panel displays the contents of the selected folder. Details about the selected file or folder appear on the right. Simple!

A slim menu at the far left offers a handful of choices: Profile, My Files, and Shared. My Files, selected by default, gets the list of files and folders that I just described. Choosing Shared brings up a list of files shared with you; I'll discuss sharing below. Do note that the search box now covers both your own files and files shared with you—previously, you had to search those separately. On the Profile page, you can drill down for settings or adjust your security.

Most file encryption apps work in one of two ways. Either they allow you to encrypt individual files and folders, or they create encrypted storage folders that can be locked to prevent access to their contents. NordLocker's local lockers used to be an example of the latter, but, as noted, that feature has moved to the cloud.

Folder Lock, Steganos Safe , Cryptainer, and CryptoExpert can also create encrypted storage folders. Folder Lock, Steganos, and CryptoExpert create multiple containers that appear as drives or folders when opened, whereas Cryptainer treats the first volume you create as the primary volume and requires you to remember the filenames of secondary volumes.

NordLocker Windows App: Desktop Navigation and Features

You can use NordLocker in the browser on any platform. Here's what it looks like on a Mac.

Windows users can also install a local Windows app for quick access. There are also apps for Android and iOS, which I'll discuss below. Currently, Nord does not offer native apps for macOS or Linux. Do note that if you install it on a mobile app, you can use biometrics on your mobile device to unlock the account on other devices. The app on the mobile device displays a code, as does NordLocker in the browser. If the codes match, you tap to complete the login.

You access the NordLocker Windows app's tall, skinny window by invoking it from the taskbar's notification area. The window displays a list of recent activities, such as file uploads and downloads. Across the bottom are three icons titled Open files, View in browser, and Profile.

Clicking Profile allows you to adjust a few settings, primarily related to security. Selecting View in browser opens the main online NordLocker cloud dashboard. As for Open files, it displays the contents of your cloud locker in Windows Explorer, as if they were local files. It's super easy to manipulate your protected files in this view, and moving items into and out of cloud protection is no different from moving them between ordinary folders.

File Management: Syncing and Storing Protected Files

With the original NordLocker, you could create multiple lockers, both local and in the cloud. In the new system, the cloud is the only storage location. As noted, you can open NordLocker in Windows Explorer. When you do that, you can treat it like any other drive or file location. Drag a file in, and it will be copied to the cloud locker. Previously, if you moved an item into the NordLocker locker, the SafeDelete component would securely delete the original file, preventing forensic recovery. Secure deletion is no longer present. My Nord contact explained, "Users can then choose to delete the originals (we leave this decision, and the choice of method to delete, to the user, so that they are always in control)."

When you launch a document from within NordLocker, it syncs a local copy for you to work on, then syncs your changes to the cloud when you've finished. EncryptPro's On The Fly Access works in much the same way. Like NordLocker, EncryptPro doesn't include a secure deletion feature, though the company is considering adding it. Xecrets Ez addresses exposed plaintext documents by overwriting the original with the encrypted version.

File Sharing: Sharing Locker Files and Encrypted Links

To share a file or folder, you start from your cloud storage, not from the Windows Explorer view. Just select the item and click the share icon that appears above it. In past versions, top-level folders were treated differently, but the current edition treats all folders and files the same for sharing purposes.

You have two main sharing choices. If your recipient is also a NordLocker user, you can share with them directly in the app. Just choose Share and enter one or more email addresses to receive the share. You can determine whether the group of recipients will merely get the option to view shared files or whether they'll have editorial rights to add, edit, and organize files.

There's one small catch. Each recipient must already have a NordLocker account; otherwise, the sharing system will reject the email. Once you have your recipients prepped and ready with a free account, sharing is easy. But some competitors make it even easier by sending an email that invites the recipient to set up a free account and then participate.

As the shared item's owner, you can manage access for others, changing their status from viewer to editor or vice versa, and revoke sharing privileges when they are no longer needed.

There's another folder sharing option that doesn't require the recipient to install NordLocker. You can select Copy link in the access management box to generate a link to an encrypted copy of the folder, along with a decryption key. You simply share the link and the code with your desired recipients. Naturally, you'll share the two parts using different communication media, perhaps one via email and one via Signal or another private messaging app .

When the recipient follows the link, a NordLocker window opens, proclaiming "You've got new items." Entering the security code unlocks the link, allowing you to download the shared file or folder. Note that, unlike with full folder sharing, the shared item is just a copy—it retains no connection to the original. Links shared in this way expire after two weeks by default, though you can set any expiry date you prefer. The recipient's one option is to download a local copy of any file in the shared folder. There's no editing or even direct viewing.

If you share a folder giving full Editor privileges, the recipient can edit files in the folder, add new files, and generally take full control. There's another way to share that lets you receive files from contacts who don't use NordLocker. When you click the Request files icon, located right next to the sharing icon, NordLocker generates a special link and security code, just as it does when sharing a file link. The recipient does not need to be a NordLocker user. Upon connecting via the link and entering the code, the recipient is presented with a drag-and-drop target to share files with the requester. It's a one-way connection.

Don't get too excited over this feature, though. It was necessarily disabled for NordLocker to make its recent big update, and hasn't been re-enabled yet.

Advanced Security: Multi-Factor Authentication and Access Keys

Unlocking the files in your cloud locker already requires two passwords: one for your Nord Security account online and one for your encrypted locker. Yes, these two can be the same, but for maximum security, they shouldn't be.

You can optionally verify your access to the cloud locker using a feature called phone unlock. This involves installing the NordLocker app on your phone (if you haven't already) and configuring it for biometric authentication. Now, you can unlock your encrypted files by confirming a code and tapping the app.

Since accessing those files requires knowing your Nord account password and having the app installed on your phone, you now have something close to multi-factor authentication (MFA) . But in fact, NordLocker also offers more traditional MFA. As with Steganos and a few others, you use Google Authenticator or any compatible authenticator app for the second factor. With CryptoExpert, you configure a USB drive to act as the second factor. Advanced Encryption Package also boasts USB-based authentication, though it didn't work in testing.

You enable MFA from the NordLocker cloud console. Enabling MFA involves an additional verification step in which a code is sent to the email address associated with your account. After that, setting up app-based MFA is straightforward: scan a QR code and follow the instructions.

NordLocker's enhanced security doesn't stop there. You can also configure it to authenticate using a hardware security key or, with some configurations, a passkey. NordLocker recommends setting up app-based MFA as a backup first.

NordLocker Mobile: On-the-Go Protection for Android and iOS

As noted, you can use NordLocker in the browser on any platform, and it offers a desktop app for Windows (but not macOS). Mobile apps are also available for iOS and Android. The Android app matches most of the features found in the cloud and desktop editions; the iOS app lacks a few of these.

Once you install NordLocker on your Android and log in, you have full access to all your cloud-based lockers. You can access files, share a locker, add local files, and do just about anything you can do from a desktop or from the web. You can preview some file types in the app, or download those for which there's no preview available. It's a fine mobile experience.

Getting started with the iOS app is the same as with the Android app, and the two mobile apps are more similar than ever. The differences mostly involve features not found in iOS, though I did notice that the iOS edition supports previewing more file types than the Android edition. For example, I could preview TXT and XLSX files on iOS but not on Android.

I found the option to manage sharing was absent in the iOS app. The Android app allowed me to manage sharing with other NordLocker users, but not the sharing style involving a link and an access key. You can manage MFA settings on Android, but not iOS. Still, you get easy access to your files, and, as noted, you can preview more file types on an iOS device.

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