Open a password-protected archive

Windows' built-in unzip cannot read encrypted archives — it shows the file list, then fails without ever asking for your password. Open yours here instead.

Drop your .zip here or click to choose a file

Nothing is uploaded. The archive is opened by your own browser, on your own computer. It never reaches our servers — there is no request to send it in, and no account is needed to use this page.

Why Windows can't do this. Windows Explorer only understands the old ZipCrypto scheme, which is broken and which we deliberately don't use. Our archives use AES-256, which Explorer cannot read — so it lists the file names (those aren't encrypted in a ZIP) and then gives up. 7-Zip, WinRAR and Keka all handle it too, if you can install them.

Questions

Does my file leave my computer?
No. There is no upload. You can disconnect from the internet after this page loads and it will still work.

Do I need a Formatly account?
No. This page is free and needs no sign-in — if someone sent you an encrypted archive, you shouldn't have to buy anything to read it.

It says the password is wrong, but I'm sure it's right.
Check for a trailing space, and remember passwords are case-sensitive. If the archive was altered in transit — a mail gateway rewriting it, for instance — the integrity check fails the same way, because a modified archive and a wrong password are indistinguishable by design.

Can it open .7z files?
Not yet — this page reads AES-encrypted ZIP archives. For .7z, use 7-Zip or Keka.

Where do encrypted archives come from?
Formatly's password-protect tool makes them: drop in a folder's worth of files, set a password, send one archive.