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Encrypted Decks

Deck encryption is available on the Scholar plan.

What It Does

When you enable encryption on a deck, every card's content is encrypted in your browser before being sent to the server. Flipnem stores only the encrypted blobs — the server never sees your plaintext card text and the database will only store encrypted card data.

After you enter the passphrase and unlock the encrypted deck, the passphrase will be kept in your device's browser Local Storage. This device will have perpetual access to the encrypted deck until the passphrase is "forgotten". You can manage this in Deck Details > Security.

Enabling Encryption

  1. Open the deck's ⋯ menu and go to Deck Details > Security.
  2. Click Enable Encryption.
  3. Enter and confirm a passphrase.
  4. Click Enable.

Flipnem encrypts all existing cards in the deck before saving, so no plaintext card content is ever stored unencrypted. For large decks this may take time.

Unlocking a Deck

  1. Open the deck's ⋯ menu and go to Deck Details > Security.
  2. Enter your passphrase and click Unlock.

Locking a Deck

To lock a deck without ending your session, go to Deck Details > Security and click Lock Deck. Card content is immediately hidden again.

Studying an Encrypted Deck

Encrypted decks work the same as normal decks during study. Flipnem decrypts each card's content in your browser on the fly — decrypted text is never sent back to the server. The passphrase must be entered before starting a session.

Disabling Encryption

  1. Open the deck's ⋯ menu and go to Deck Details > Security.
  2. Click Disable Encryption and confirm.

Disabling decrypts all cards and stores the plaintext content on the server again.

No Sharing and No Export

Encrypted decks cannot be shared or exported as .apkg. Both operations require the server to package card content, which is not possible without the passphrase. Disable encryption first if you need to share or export a deck.

Forgotten Passphrase

There is no passphrase recovery. The passphrase is never sent to the server — Flipnem has no way to decrypt your cards without it. If you forget your passphrase, the card content in that deck is permanently unrecoverable.

Keep a record of your passphrase in a safe place such as a password manager.

Cipher

Encryption uses AES-256-GCM. The key is derived from your passphrase and a random salt using PBKDF2-SHA256. Only someone with the passphrase can decrypt and read the card content.

Limitations

  • A parent deck cannot be encrypted.
  • Card text is encrypted. Media (images, audio, video) are not supported and you will be unable to encrypt decks that include media.
  • Encrypted decks cannot be shared or exported. Disable encryption first to export as .apkg.
  • Editing cards on an encrypted deck requires you to first enter your passphrase to unlock the deck.