A CipherDrive™ Public Link is designed to let a recipient retrieve and decrypt a shared encrypted object without requiring Ackaia to turn the stored file into plaintext on its servers.
The documented CipherDrive sharing model may use a combination of:
an object identifier;
server-side access permission;
a public download endpoint;
encrypted file-key material;
client-side decryption key material;
transfer limits;
link status.
A common encrypted-sharing design places decryption key material in the URL fragment, which is the portion of a URL after the # character.
In ordinary browser HTTP behavior, the URL fragment is handled locally and is not sent to the server as part of the normal request target.
This allows the architecture to separate:
the object identifier and access request that Ackaia must process; from
the client-side key material needed by the recipient's browser to decrypt the object.
The exact CipherDrive sharing format can evolve by protocol version, feature, or client, so support documentation should not assume that every share will always use the same URL structure.
A typical encrypted-sharing flow is:
The recipient opens the complete link.
CipherDrive checks whether the link and object are currently available.
Ackaia serves encrypted object data and the encrypted key material needed by the protocol.
The recipient's browser obtains the client-side sharing key material from the link or sharing context.
The browser recovers the file key locally.
The encrypted file is downloaded.
The file is authenticated and decrypted locally.
Ackaia may still receive and process operational information such as:
the object or link identifier;
the request IP address;
access timestamps;
transfer usage;
link status;
security and abuse-prevention signals;
rate-limit or enforcement information.
The goal is not zero metadata. The goal is that ordinary public-link delivery does not require Ackaia to hold the plaintext file key needed to decrypt the stored object.
If the full Public Link includes all material needed to access and decrypt the object, possession of that complete link can effectively grant access.
Do not paste sensitive Public Links into:
public websites;
untrusted URL shorteners;
analytics or inspection tools you do not trust;
browser extensions that can read page URLs;
screenshots or support tickets unless necessary and safe.
The word “public” describes the access model of the link, not a guarantee that the shared file is automatically indexed, advertised, or discoverable by everyone on the internet.
However, once a complete link is published or forwarded, you should assume that anyone who receives it may be able to use it until the link is revoked, expires, is restricted, or otherwise stops working.