In One Sentence
We protect your photos and videos from US tech giants and hackers!
What is zeitkapsl?
zeitkapsl is the secure, European alternative for storing and syncing photos and videos — with local AI search and end-to-end encryption.
Thanks to an innovative encryption architecture, zeitkapsl ensures that only users and explicitly authorized individuals can access stored content. Neither we as the platform operator nor third parties can access it.
Our goal is for this level of security to be completely transparent for users. zeitkapsl is easy to use, accessible to everyone, and requires no technical expertise.
Why does zeitkapsl exist?
Many well-known cloud services make it easier to store, share, and retrieve photos and videos. But this often comes at the cost of privacy:
- Data analysis: AI systems analyze image content and extract personal information like income, religion, political views, or health status.
- Dependence on US corporations: European users often store their memories on services outside of Europe — with no control over their use.
- Privacy: Many cloud providers have unrestricted access to all stored photos and videos.
- Security risks: Hacks and data breaches are a real issue.
- Platform dependency: Many cloud solutions are not cross-platform compatible.
We didn’t want that anymore! We need an alternative that respects European values like the right to privacy and data protection.
📌 Oliver is a father of three:
Many children don’t get to choose where their childhood photos end up. I want to protect my children’s digital sovereignty.
📌 Peter stored photos on external drives for years and tested numerous self-hosting solutions:
The data stays private, but it’s very labor-intensive. Also, it’s impractical because memories can’t easily be found again.
That’s why we built zeitkapsl – an end-to-end encrypted, secure and sustainable alternative that respects European values.
Demo and Screenshots
- Read-only interactive demo of the Web App.
- Short video showing and explaining some of the features.
iOS App
High-resolution iOS screenshots
Android App
High-resolution Android screenshots
Command Line Interface (CLI) App
Desktop App
Currently in development, expected release in Q3/2025.
Pricing, Funding & Partners
- 90 seconds idea competition – 2023
- FFG Basic Program 2024 Call – Research project from 09/2024 to 08/2025
- build! Founders Center move program – Incubee 2023
- build! Founders Center run program – Incubee 2024
- A plus B southwest – Incubee 2023 and 2024
- Alpen Adria University / syssec – Bachelor and Master theses
- FH Villach – Project work in marketing and project management
Founders Information
Oliver and Peter met in 2019 while working on a joint client project. Since then, they’ve been a well-coordinated team passionate about lean, sustainable software solutions. In 2023, they founded hardcode GmbH to bring their vision of zeitkapsl to life. The company is based in Vienna but also closely connected to Carinthia, where both founders are from.
Peter Spiess-Knafl
Peter studied computer science with a focus on “distributed multimedia systems” at the Alpen-Adria University in Klagenfurt, graduating in 2016. His Master’s thesis focused on the automated content analysis of images and videos — a subject that continues to fascinate him.
During his studies, he gained extensive experience in image and video processing, as well as live streaming.
Since 2017, he has worked as a freelance software developer and system architect.
Outside of work, he maintains several open-source projects and was a Debian Maintainer for several years.
Oliver Selinger
Oliver studied “Software Engineering” and “Internet Computing” at TU Vienna.
Since 2012, he has worked as a freelance software developer on many projects across various industries.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
FAQs for users.
Resources and Downloads
Logos and Typography
Colors
- Primary color:
#44BE75 - Text color:
#404040