# Ondes PRO Drive: encrypted storage even the AI cannot read

> Ondes PRO’s drive is end-to-end encrypted, even for an AI connected over MCP. It can organise and measure; contents only open with your key.

Updated on 2026-10-21 · The Ondes PRO team · https://ondes.pro/en/integrations/mcp/modules/drive

**Ondes PRO’s drive** is **end-to-end encrypted**: your files are encrypted in your browser before upload, and the server only keeps unreadable content. Connected through the **MCP server**, your AI assistant can help you measure and organise the drive — volumes, file types, dates, shares, trash — but it **does not read the contents of your files**. For developers, an **application key** approved by the user makes it possible to build a full drive client, while the server still cannot decrypt a thing.

## Free up drive space without opening anything

_Example conversation · demo data (Atelier Lumen)_

> **You** : Our storage is almost full. What is taking up space in the drive?
>
> 🔧 `ondes_appeler` `GET drive/fichiers` with `ordering=-file_size` — largest files first, with type, size and upload date.
>
> 🔧 `ondes_appeler` `GET drive/fichiers/corbeille/` — 41 items in the trash.
>
> **Assistant** : The **9 videos** uploaded in March account for **6.8 GB** on their own, more than half of the drive. The trash still holds **3.1 GB**. Since the drive is end-to-end encrypted, I cannot open those files to tell you what is in them, so sorting them from the Drive screen is the easiest route. Do you want me to empty the trash? It is permanent.
>
> **You** : No, leave it. I will look at the videos.
>
> **Assistant** : Got it. For the record, the trash empties itself: each item stays there for 30 days, then it is deleted and its space freed.

## Can an AI access an end-to-end encrypted drive?

Yes for organising, no for contents. End-to-end encryption in Ondes PRO’s drive relies on a key that never leaves your devices: the server does not have it, so it cannot decrypt anything — neither for itself nor for an AI that goes through it. An assistant connected over MCP sees the **metadata** the server knows about: sizes, types, dates, folder placement, shares, trash.

That is a strength, not a shortcoming: what you keep in the drive cannot leak through a misconfigured AI connection, a stolen token or an assistant’s mistake. The `ondes_impossible` tool tells the assistant so from the start — the API does no server-side decryption — so it never promises a summary it cannot produce. The architecture is detailed on the [security](https://ondes.pro/en/security) page.

## Drive API resources, and what they serve

Contents are served encrypted: only a client holding the right key can read them.

| Resource | Role | What is encrypted |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `drive/fichiers` | Files: list, upload, replace, move, trash | Each file’s contents and key |
| `drive/dossiers` | Folder tree | The folder’s protected details |
| `drive/partages` | Sharing a file with one person | The file key, wrapped for the recipient |
| `drive/partages-societe` | Sharing a file with a whole company | One envelope per member |
| `drive/cles-application` | Application key requests and approval | The drive key, wrapped for the application |

A file’s bytes travel over direct HTTP, never through the MCP server, which documents and handles metadata.

## For developers: the application key

Want to build your own drive client — desktop sync, automatic archiving, a line-of-business app? The user’s encryption password never has to touch your code. Your integration generates its own key pair, then **requests an application key**. The user approves it in their browser, the only place where their private key is unlocked, after comparing a **fingerprint** shown on both sides.

On approval, the browser wraps the drive key for your application; the server stores that envelope without being able to open it. Your API key, linked to that application key, can then list and decrypt files, upload, replace, move and share them with a verifiable signature, or publish an unencrypted copy. Two actions remain reserved to the user’s browser: accepting an incoming share and approving another application.

## Connect an application to the encrypted drive

Your coding assistant gets the full recipe from `ondes_exemple` and the dedicated guide section from `ondes_guide`.

1. **Generate the application’s key pair** — Your integration creates its Curve25519 key pair and keeps the private key to itself. Only the public key is sent to Ondes PRO.
2. **Request approval** — Calling `drive/cles-application/demander/` records the request and returns the approval address for the user to open.
3. **The user checks the fingerprint and approves** — Under **API & Developers → Application keys**, they check that the fingerprint shown is your application’s, then approve. Their browser wraps the drive key for you.
4. **Call the API with the linked key** — An API key carrying the approved application key receives encrypted contents, which your code decrypts locally. An API key on its own, without an application key, receives nothing.

> **Revoking removes access, not knowledge** — We would rather be upfront: revoking an application key cuts its drive access immediately. But the drive key it received does not change — an application that kept a copy still knows it. Only approve applications you trust, and always check the fingerprint.

## What the encrypted drive guarantees, with or without AI

- **The server decrypts nothing**: not for an administrator, not for the built-in assistant, not for an assistant connected over MCP.
- **Files are never served publicly**: they are stored outside the instance’s public file area. Publishing a file means deliberately uploading an unencrypted copy.
- **30-day trash**: a deletion can be undone, then the item is purged automatically.
- **Shares suspended, not erased**: a file in the trash is no longer served to its recipients, and gets its shares back if restored.
- **Folder sharing and company-wide sharing**: prepared by the owner’s browser, the only place that can wrap the keys.

## Keep exploring

- [Object storage & CDN](https://ondes.pro/en/integrations/mcp/modules/object-storage-cdn) — File buckets served by a CDN, which your coding assistant creates and fills for your websites.
- [MCP server security](https://ondes.pro/en/integrations/mcp/security) — OAuth 2.1, short-lived tokens, instant revocation and write safeguards: what your IT team needs to know.
- [Build an integration](https://ondes.pro/en/integrations/mcp/guides/build-an-integration) — Scoped keys, signed webhooks, idempotency and test mode for a back office that never creates duplicates.
- [REST API v1](https://ondes.pro/en/integrations/rest-api) — Around 135 REST resources, scoped keys, an OpenAPI schema and signed webhooks.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can an AI connected over MCP read my drive files?

No. Ondes PRO’s drive is end-to-end encrypted: the server does not hold the key and cannot decrypt anything, so neither can an assistant going through it. It sees metadata such as sizes, types, dates, shares and the trash.

### So what is the MCP server good for with the drive?

Organising and measuring: spotting what fills the space, checking the trash, reviewing shares. And, for a developer, getting the exact documentation and recipe to build a drive client that decrypts locally with an application key.

### What is an application key?

A permission the user grants, in their browser, to one specific application: the browser wraps the drive key for that application’s public key. The application can then decrypt files locally without ever knowing the encryption password.

### What happens if I revoke an application key?

It immediately loses drive access through the API. The drive key it received does not rotate, though: an application that kept it still knows it. That is why checking the fingerprint before approving matters.

### Can files be transferred through the MCP server?

No. File bytes travel over direct HTTP to the API. The MCP server documents and handles metadata, and tells the assistant to download binary contents directly.

### Is the encrypted drive included in every plan?

Yes. The drive, its end-to-end encryption and the MCP server are included in every Ondes PRO plan; only the storage allowance depends on the plan. See [pricing](https://ondes.pro/en/pricing).