Data encryption options
Cloud Storage always encrypts your data on the server side, before it iswritten to disk, at no additional charge. Besides thisstandard, Cloud Storage behavior, there are additional ways toencrypt your data when using Cloud Storage. Below is a summary of theencryption options available to you:
Server-side encryption: Encryption that occurs after Cloud Storagereceives your data, but before the data is written to disk and stored.
Customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK): You can create and manageyour encryption keys throughCloud Key Management Service. CMEK can be stored assoftware keys, in anHSM cluster, orexternally.
Customer-supplied encryption keys (CSEK): You can create and manageyour own encryption keys. These keys act as an additional encryption layer ontop of the standard Cloud Storage encryption.
Client-side encryption: Encryption that occurs before data is sent toCloud Storage. Such data arrives at Cloud Storage alreadyencrypted but also undergoes server-side encryption.
Warning: If you use customer-supplied encryption keys or client-side encryption,you must securely manage your keys and ensure that they are not lost. If youlose your keys, you are no longer able to read your data, and you continue to becharged for storage of your objects until you delete them.Comparing encryption options
| Encryption method | Key management | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Standard (Default) | Google manages the encryption keys. | General purpose: Cloud Storage's standard encryption is ideal for most users who need their data encrypted at rest without wanting to manage encryption keys. It satisfies many compliance requirements automatically. |
| CMEK | You manage the keys using Cloud Key Management Service. | Compliance and control: Use CMEK when you need to control the lifecycle of your encryption keys to meet specific compliance standards (for example, PCI-DSS or HIPAA). You can grant, revoke, and rotate keys on your own schedule. |
| CSEK | You provide your own encryption keys with each request to Cloud Storage. | External key management: CSEK is best for scenarios where you have an existing key management system outside of Google Cloud and you want to use those keys to encrypt your Cloud Storage data. The key is not stored by Google. |
| Client-side encryption | You encrypt the data and manage the keys entirely on your own before sending it to Cloud Storage. | Maximum secrecy: Use client-side encryption when you need to ensure that Google has no possible access to the unencrypted data. This provides the highest level of control but also places the full burden of key management and the encryption and decryption processes on you. |
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Last updated 2026-02-19 UTC.