Do Joplin now uses AES128 or AES256

[LinuxBro]

Operating system

Linux

Joplin version

3.1.20

Sync target

Joplin Cloud

What issue do you have?

I would like to know if Joplin now uses AES128bit or AES256bit?
I've searched for this before but only found a few discussions about Joplin switching between AES128 and AES256, but I'm not sure which version is currently used, and I can't find any information about this in the Joplin documentation.
Sorry if i over seen something and now bothering you with this

[personalizedrefriger]

By default, Joplin uses AES-128. With the "enable beta encryption method" flag enabled (may require Joplin >= v3.2), Joplin uses AES-256.

Relevant code:

• Stable encryption method logic: EncryptionService.ts, line 394
  • Joplin uses the encryption method labelled SJCL1a by default.
• Beta encryption method logic: EncryptionService.ts, line 546

[LinuxBro]

@personalizedrefriger

By default, Joplin uses AES-128.

I hope this change soon, because AES128 will maybe be breakable in a few years

@personalizedrefriger

With the "enable beta encryption method" flag enabled (may require Joplin >= v3.2), Joplin uses AES-256.

Thank you, where do i find this flag?
And because its a beta, are there any downsides more then that it take a few seconds longer to sync?

[personalizedrefriger]

@LinuxBro

Thank you, where do i find this flag?

In Joplin 3.2.x, the flag can be found in settings > synchronization > advanced > "use beta encryption".

@LinuxBro

And because its a beta, are there any downsides more then that it take a few seconds longer to sync?

The beta encryption method should be faster. See the related post:

Final report of the Native Encryption project

Here is the final report of the new native encryption project of GSoC 2024. The code has not been merged yet but I guess it will be merged soon. I will keep improving the related code before and after the PR is merged. Special thanks to @tessus and @roman_r_m for mentoring me throughout this project! I would also like to thank @laurent and @personalizedrefriger for their support during the GSoC period. GSoC Project Link: Google Summer of Code GitHub PR Link: All: Add new encryption methods b…

@LinuxBro

are there any downsides

At present, all Joplin clients need to use the 3.2 prerelease to decrypt notes. See the GSoC project summary for additional considerations.

[_Ben]

Hi Henri. Thanks for the info - interesting stuff. Some quick questions off the back of this:

If you currently use encryption and then enable the beta encryption method, what is the process - will Joplin use the beta method just for new notes or will enabling the beta enact a re-encryption of all notes using the new method? In the latter's case, would the new versions replace the old ones on the sync target? Should one enable the beta switch on all clients for this to work?

Finally does the beta method seem as though it's here to stay, ie are there any risks moving to it?

(I would like to try it if it's faster primarily because since enabling encryption I've found the Android app very slow, though I'm not sure if this is because of a move to v3.x, as I did this at the same time - I'll make a separate post for this soon!).

Many thanks for all your help here.
Ben

[personalizedrefriger]

@_Ben

If you currently use encryption and then enable the beta encryption method, what is the process - will Joplin use the beta method just for new notes or will enabling the beta enact a re-encryption of all notes using the new method? In the latter's case, would the new versions replace the old ones on the sync target? Should one enable the beta switch on all clients for this to work?

When I enabled the beta encryption method for my notes, clients that used an older 3.1.x version of Joplin were unable to decrypt only new and changed notes. To use the beta encryption method for all items, it should be possible to use the "re-encrypt data" tool in settings > encryption > advanced (desktop only).

@_Ben

Finally does the beta method seem as though it's here to stay

It seems that way. Perhaps @laurent can confirm this.

@_Ben

are there any risks moving to it?

The beta encryption method is much newer than the stable encryption method. As such, it's more likely to have issues than the stable encryption logic.

[laurent]

@personalizedrefriger

@_Ben

Finally does the beta method seem as though it's here to stay

So far there's no reason to think we won't keep the new method. I've enabled it on all my devices for a few months already and never noticed any issue. I'm thinking we could enable it for everybody on 3.3 pre-release.

[LinuxBro]

@personalizedrefriger

In Joplin 3.2.x, the flag can be found in settings > synchronization > advanced > "use beta encryption".

Thank you I found it on my mobile phone.
But i don't found it one my Desktop Joplin, probably because it is only 3.1.20 and not 3.2, i hope the Joplin Flatpack gets an update to 3.2 soon.

@personalizedrefriger

At present, all Joplin clients need to use the 3.2 prerelease to decrypt notes. See the GSoC project summary for additional considerations.

So i have to wait until the Flatpack gets an update, so that all my clients can encrypt AES256.

@laurent

So far there's no reason to think we won't keep the new method. I've enabled it on all my devices for a few months already and never noticed any issue. I'm thinking we could enable it for everybody on 3.3 pre-release.

Do you know when the 3.3 or at least 3.2 Flatpack for Linux will get released?

[wh201906]

@LinuxBro

Do you know when the 3.3 or at least 3.2 Flatpack for Linux will get released?

Seems like the Flatpak is not maintained by the Joplin Team but others. Maybe you need to ask it there.

GitHub - flathub/net.cozic.joplin_desktop

[wh201906]

@LinuxBro

Do you know when the 3.3 or at least 3.2 Flatpack for Linux will get released?

Here are the steps to use 3.2 (now in pre-release) if you don't mind using the beta repo

Provide pre-release versions

How to use flathub-beta

[Eduardo]

Hi I have a question regarding this topic.
Over the past few days, I’ve experienced synchronization issues with some notes, but only on my iPhone and iPad, not on my laptop.
After being unable to identify the issue, I decided to undo the last changes made in the Joplin app (uninstalling the latest plugin and reverting the application of beta encryption in Options/Sync).
This restored normal Joplin functionality across all my devices after copying and removing the impacted notes from my phone and tablet.
After reinstalling the last plugin and thinking more about it, I suspect my mistake was enabling beta encryption on just one device, my laptop.
Could you please confirm if this could have been the issue? I’d like to know if I can now safely enable beta encryption on all devices without any problems. Additionally, if this is the case, I suggest including it as an additional note in the app option to help prevent users like me in the future.

[personalizedrefriger]

@Eduardo

I’ve experienced synchronization issues with some notes, but only on my iPhone and iPad, not on my laptop.

On iOS, Joplin needs to be a 13.2.x version to decrypt beta-encrypted notes. As of January 9th, the latest Joplin version in the AppStore is 13.1.7. Pre-release versions of Joplin for iOS can be installed from TestFlight.

[Eduardo]

Thanks for your prompt answer. Right, I have installed on both devices v 13.2.2 through TestFlight. Another good reason for adding it in the option. I assume we should set up this in all devices to skip the problem, Please confirm it.

[LinuxBro]

I thought the Joplin Flatpack was just a copy of the original Joplin, but as a flatpack.
I use it because I don't really like having a lot of app images that don't have icons and can't be updated from a central software.

[wh201906]

@LinuxBro

I thought the Joplin Flatpack was just a copy of the original Joplin, but as a flatpack.

The Flatpak runs apps in a sandbox so the behavior of the Flatpak version might be a little bit different from the original one. The package maintainers also need to change some part to make it work as a Flatpak package.
You can check the Flathub metadata to see what are changed.

flathub/net.cozic.joplin_desktop/blob/master/net.cozic.joplin_desktop.yml