The free file sharing and collaboration platform Nextcloud is ready in version 17, as the manufacturer tells. Among other things, the current version now offers a service called Virtual Data Rooms (VDR) that enables the creation of guest accounts with certain security features such as two-factor authentication. Likewise, the access permissions for the files can be set. The VDR is designed to allow sharing and working on files with third parties without the data being passed on by them.

Nextcloud 17 comes according to the announcement of the offerer also with the new function Remote Wipe. This allows data on stolen or lost devices to be deleted remotely. This works for the user by selecting a device and for the admin by selecting a user. The Remote Wipe also works with Virtual Data Rooms.

Also new is the text editor, which was previously designed for quick editing and annotation, and also works in a team. The editor handles Markdown and various text formats and fully supports Nextcloud’s sidebar.

For Nextcloud 17, the team has evolved the watermarking feature, giving administrators more options in defining tags and permissions. The security also provides an improved two-factor authentication, which can be configured by the user after the first login. Administrators can create one-time tokens if users forget passwords. The feature also supports Time-based One-Time-Password (TOTP). More details are listed in the announcement.