# End to End Encryption?

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/end-to-end-encryption/352939
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [February 18, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/end-to-end-encryption/352939 "2025-02-18T17:54:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 2

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### Author: ![supermathie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/supermathie/32/507518_2.png) [@supermathie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/supermathie)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2025, 6:16pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/end-to-end-encryption/352939/2 "2025-02-18T18:16:25Z")

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> [@Wall-E](#):
>
> admin privileges to the virtual machine running the Docker instance

root access on the host server effectively gives full access to all content in Discourse. Including soft-deleted content (it still lives on in the database) not [permanently deleted](https://meta.discourse.org/t/enable-setting-to-allow-admins-to-permanently-delete-data/206678).

(even while it was supported, our discourse-encrypt plugin would only give personal messages the benefit of encryption)

The best way to prevent this access from the host would be to _not be able_ to give that access (for example if your site were hosted by us or another similar entity).

In that case, someone with admin access on the Discourse site would still be able to download a full database backup and see all data, but not be able to access the backend systems.

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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/end-to-end-encryption/352939)._