A source trusted you with something. Where you store it matters.
Bigby gives journalists, researchers, and investigators encrypted, UK-based cloud storage built around the principle that confidential material should stay confidential. No data deals, no fine print.
Source protection is not a feature. It is a commitment.
People come to journalists and researchers because they believe their identity and their information will be protected. That belief is the foundation of the work. Without it, sources dry up, investigations stall, and important stories go untold.
The tools you use to store your work are part of that commitment, whether you think of them that way or not. Notes, documents, interview recordings, leaked materials: all of it sits somewhere. The question is whether that somewhere is a platform that can read it, scan it, or hand it over.
What standard cloud storage means for your work
The major cloud platforms were built for consumers and general business use. When you store sensitive journalistic or research material on them, you are operating under terms written for someone else entirely.
Platforms that can read your files
Standard cloud storage is not encrypted end-to-end. The provider holds your files in a form they can access, whether to scan for content moderation, serve advertising, train AI models, or comply with a legal demand. Notes identifying a source, documents received in confidence, and unpublished research are all readable by the platform unless the platform is specifically designed to prevent that.
Legal demands and disclosure
Journalists and researchers in the UK benefit from some legal protections around source confidentiality, but those protections operate at the level of what you personally hold and what you choose to disclose. A cloud provider served with a court order or other legal demand is in a different position entirely. If they can read your files, they can be compelled to hand them over. That is a meaningful distinction.
US jurisdiction and overseas exposure
The major cloud providers are US companies subject to US law. Legislation such as the CLOUD Act creates mechanisms by which US authorities can compel access to data held by those companies, including data stored in the UK. For journalists covering subjects with any international dimension, that exposure is real and worth understanding.
Terms written for consumers, not investigators
Consumer cloud services carry broad data usage rights. Content scanning, AI training provisions, and data sharing with third parties are common. For most users those terms are acceptable. For a journalist with a source to protect or a researcher handling sensitive interview material, they represent a category of risk that is worth taking seriously.
How Bigby works
UK storage and no commercial incentive to read, scan, or share what you store
Bigby stores your files in encrypted form on UK infrastructure. We do not scan the contents and have no business model that depends on them. Here is what that means in practice.
01. Encrypted at rest
Your files are encrypted on our UK servers. The data stored on our infrastructure is in encrypted form, which provides meaningful protection in the event of a storage breach and ensures your files are not sitting as readable plain text on any server.
02. No access to file contents
Bigby does not access or read the contents of what you store. Unlike platforms that scan and mine your data, we have no business model that depends on reading your files. Notes, source documents, recordings, and research are stored without anyone at Bigby accessing them.
03. No AI training or secondary use
Your stored content is not used for AI training, advertising targeting, or any analysis of any kind. The subscription fee covers the cost of running the service. That is the entire arrangement.
04. Your data stays in the UK
All data is stored on UK-based infrastructure. UK law applies. There is no transfer to US servers and no exposure to US jurisdiction. What you store with Bigby does not leave the UK.
Frequently asked questions
If Bigby received a legal demand for my files, what would happen?
Bigby is a UK company subject to UK law. Like any UK business, we may be required to comply with lawful UK court orders or other legal demands. We will always challenge demands we consider unlawful and will inform users where the law permits. What Bigby can offer journalists and researchers is meaningful protection against the most common risks: no scanning, no AI mining, no data deals, UK-only jurisdiction with no exposure to the US CLOUD Act, and a subscription model with no incentive to monetise your content. For the highest-sensitivity source protection against compelled legal disclosure, we recommend using dedicated end-to-end encrypted communications tools alongside Bigby.
Can I store leaked or sensitive documents securely?
Yes. Documents, research, and sensitive material can be stored and accessed on Bigby. We do not scan or access the contents of stored files, and we have no business model that requires us to. Your files are stored in encrypted form on UK servers and are not subject to US jurisdiction or the CLOUD Act.
I work with a small team of researchers. Is there a plan for that?
Yes. The Group plan provides shared encrypted storage and document collaboration for teams of three or more. Each member accesses only what they need, and all files remain encrypted throughout. It is priced per user from £4.99 per month on annual billing and is well suited to small editorial or research teams who need to collaborate without compromising on security.
Does Bigby work with tools I already use?
Bigby supports WebDAV, an open standard compatible with a wide range of applications and operating systems. If your current workflow involves syncing or accessing files from desktop software, there is a good chance it will work alongside Bigby without disruption. We are happy to answer specifics if you have a particular setup in mind.
Is Bigby suitable for a freelance journalist working alone?
Yes. The Storage and Office plans are designed for individual users with no minimum commitment. Most freelancers will find the 100 GB Storage plan more than sufficient for notes, documents, and research files. The Office plan adds document and spreadsheet editing within your encrypted workspace, which some find useful for drafting and organising long-form work. Storage can be topped up at any point.
How does Bigby make money if it does not sell data?
We charge a fair price for the service. No advertising, no data monetisation, no secondary use of stored content. The service is funded entirely by subscription. For journalists and researchers who have reason to scrutinise the business models of the platforms they rely on, we think that straightforwardness is part of what makes Bigby worth considering.
A source trusted you. Make sure your storage is worthy of that.
Private, encrypted, UK-based cloud storage from £3.99 per month. Built for people whose work depends on keeping confidences.
Annual billing · All prices in GBP · UK data residency · GDPR compliant