When a team moves its chat, email and tasks into one workspace, the first question is usually "how is our data protected?". Here is a plain explanation of what Roomie does by default, what extra option exists, and why we chose this setup.

What we use by default

  • AES-256 encryption at rest. Your data is encrypted when it is stored.
  • TLS encryption in transit. Messages and files are encrypted while they move between your device and our servers.

Together, these mean that nobody in the middle, such as your internet provider, an attacker on the network, or an infrastructure provider, can read your data as it is stored or sent.

What about end-to-end encryption?

For organisations that want stronger isolation, Roomie offers end-to-end encryption (E2EE) as an add-on for self-hosted deployments. With E2EE:

  • Messages are encrypted on the sender's device and decrypted only on the recipient's device.
  • Even the Roomie servers cannot read the message content.

This suits sensitive industries, but it comes with trade-offs.

Default encryption compared with end-to-end encryption

AES and TLS (the default):

  • Data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with TLS
  • Full-text search and filtering work
  • AI features, like task detection and suggestions, work
  • Available on both the hosted and self-hosted versions

End-to-end encryption (add-on, self-hosted only):

  • Messages are encrypted and decrypted only on user devices
  • The servers cannot read message content
  • Some features, like search and AI, may be limited or unavailable
  • Only available as an add-on for self-hosted deployments

Why AES is the default

End-to-end encryption is the most private option, but it limits what the server can do with your data. That means:

  • Search does not work across messages the server cannot read
  • AI features cannot read the content either
  • Some performance features that rely on indexing are not possible

Most teams want search and AI to work, so we use AES and TLS by default. This protects your data from outsiders while keeping those features working.

For teams with stricter requirements, our team can set up E2EE as an add-on, mainly in self-hosted deployments.

In short

  • Your data is encrypted at rest and in transit by default.
  • If you need more isolation, you can host Roomie yourself, and add end-to-end encryption.
  • The right choice depends on how much you need search and AI compared with how strict your privacy requirements are.

For more on where data is stored, migration and exporting your data, see Security & migration.