Zero-knowledge is a term from cryptography for a proof that convinces a verifier a statement is true while revealing nothing else, and it is also used loosely in marketing to mean that a provider cannot read customer data — two things that are not related.
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Also called
Zero-knowledge encryption
What Zero-knowledge means
The technical meaning is precise. A zero-knowledge proof lets one party demonstrate knowledge of something — a password, a key, a valid transaction — without transmitting it. The construction is genuinely remarkable and underpins real systems in authentication and in privacy-preserving ledgers.
The marketing meaning is unrelated to any of that. When a storage or messaging vendor says "zero-knowledge architecture", what is nearly always meant is client-side encryption with keys the server never receives — which is a real and valuable property, but its actual name is end-to-end encryption. Borrowing the cryptographic term adds no information and makes the claim harder rather than easier to verify.
It also tends to overclaim by omission. A provider that cannot read message content still knows who spoke to whom and when, still holds account and billing data, and still controls the code it delivers to a browser. "Zero knowledge" describes none of that accurately, and a reviewer who takes the phrase at face value ends up with a worse mental model than one who was told plainly which rooms are encrypted and which are not.
How Enclessa uses it
Enclessa does not describe itself as zero-knowledge, and will not. The accurate statement is narrower and more useful: direct messages and group direct messages are end-to-end encrypted with MLS and the server holds no key for them; channels are managed rooms the server can read; and metadata, account data and billing data are visible to Enclessa in every case. Anywhere the guarantee is weaker, Enclessa names the room mode instead of reaching for a stronger word.
Related terms
Read further
The security page explains how Enclessa protects data and which certifications it does not hold. The trust centre covers the processing agreement, the subprocessors and the residency position. The FAQ answers the questions buyers ask most often.
Encrypted collaboration, hosted in Europe.
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