Nextcloud 14 Introducing Video Verification and Signal/Telegram 2FA support, Improved Collaboration and GDPR compliance

Leading Content Collaboration Platform delivers deeper integration of communication, improved compliance and security capabilities

Berlin, August 25 2018. Nextcloud GmbH, the globally leading supplier of self-hosted content collaboration solutions, announces the forthcoming Nextcloud 14 release with innovative new security, sharing and collaboration capabilities. Foremost is the introduction of Video Verification, employing the self-hosted Nextcloud Talk technology for identity verification through a video call for public link shares. Collaboration is improved with support for adding a note to shares, searching for content in comments on files, a new overview of shares and the next generation of federated, cross-cloud sharing collaboration with the introduction of Federation 2.0.

Video Verification brings a new layer of security to Nextcloud, showing the benefit of integrated communication in a file exchange technology. When a share link is created for a document or folder, users can opt to receive a video call on their desktop or phone when the recipient accesses the link, giving them a chance to verify the identity of the recipient before telling them the password.

said Daniel Calviño Sánchez, Nextcloud Talk developer.

To further improve the security of Nextcloud, a new 2-factor authentication provider named ‘gateway’ was introduced which allows users to use the secure messaging apps Signal and Telegram as well as various SMS gateways as second factor to secure their authentication. Thanks to a collaboration with the TU Berlin it is now possible to authenticate to Samba servers while using Kerberos authentication, the Nextcloud SAML app was updated with support for multiple Identity Providers and U2F via NFC is now officially supported for 2-factor authentication.

Nextcloud solidifies its position as the easiest file exchange solution to achieve compliance with regulations like the European GDPR and the upcoming California Consumer Privacy Act. This release introduces a Data Protection Confirmation app and separate audit log file, complementing to the existing Impressum/legal notice and data request apps available in the Nextcloud Compliance Kit. Using the applications in the kit as well as extensive documentation, supported by our compliance expertise accessible through their Nextcloud Subscription, Nextcloud customers can ensure full legal compliance with a minimum of effort.

Enterprises will also appreciate improvements to the storage subsystem of Nextcloud, improving compatibility of automatically generated ZIP files on download and adding Swiftv3 compatibility. New is also optional integration of the Nextcloud log in the systemd log.

Major user interface and design work was done in this release, introducing accessibility features with a dark theme, a high contrast theme and a dyslectic font set as well as making Nextcloud more accessible to users with vision impairments thanks to keyboard and screen reader navigation improvements. An updated first-run wizard and a variety of small changes to the files app makes Nextcloud even easier and more fun to use.

The system administrator area has received a restructuring and app management was improved with more detailed information, cross-category search and an easier app update process. The Nextcloud user management interface was optimized for larger installations the upgrade process received many improvements. System administrators are now informed about the changes which will be executed by the updater and if compatible versions of all apps are available before upgrade. Nextcloud now supports logging to the systemd log and users are notified of major changes in a new release with a popup on first login.

I’m proud the Nextcloud community is once again delivering a major release, advancing the state of the art in the content collaboration area and delivering on the needs of enterprises and home users across the world. This release not only solidifies our position as the most deployed self-hosted content collaboration platform, it sets Nextcloud up for a new wave of innovation with a wide range of improvements for our active ecosystem of app developers.

said Frank Karlitschek, founder and managing director at Nextcloud GmbH.

For developers, Nextcloud 14 introduces access to the versioning and trash features through our API, already prompting work for desktop and mobile clients to integrate these functions in upcoming releases. There is now support for PHP 7.0, 7.1 and 7.2 and we’re committed to supporting the upcoming 7.3 release as soon as we can. There is now support for the new and improved ARGON2I hashing algorithm and Federation 2.0 enables developers to support exchanging calendars, contacts, Talk calls, chat and other content between Nextcloud servers in app releases over the coming months. This was recently covered in a blog post for developers.

Besides the improvements in Nextcloud Files as detailed above, Nextcloud Talk and Nextcloud Groupware have made significant strides. Shortly after the release of Nextcloud 14, updates with major new features are scheduled. Nextcloud Talk introduces:

• Possibility to join without Camera/Microphone
• Backend integration: MCU, SIP-Bridge, ext. Signaling
• Allow to join multiple chats in different browser tabs at the same time
• Conversation list is now sorted by last activity (rather than own visit)
• Conversations can be pinned to the top of the conversation list
• Chat works without requesting Camera/Microphone
• Participants can be @mentioned in the chat now
• Number of unread chat messages + special highlight when you got mentioned in conversation list
• System chat messages (basically inline activity stream for the respective conversation)
• Chat in the mobile apps

The Nextcloud Groupware suite introduces resource booking in the calendar app. A major area of improvement has been the Deck app, a digital Kanban board, which has now officially been added to Nextcloud Groupware. It features integration with Nextcloud Files and offers an easy to use tool for teams to plan their projects.

About Nextcloud

Nextcloud offers the industry-leading, fully open source, self-hosted Content Collaboration Platform, combining the easy user interface of consumer-grade cloud solutions with the security and compliance measures enterprises need. Nextcloud brings together universal access to data through mobile, desktop and web interfaces with next-generation, on-premise secure communication and collaboration features like real-time document editing, chat and video calls, putting them under direct control of IT and integrated with existing infrastructure. Nextcloud’s easy and quick deployment, open, modular architecture and emphasis on security and advanced federation capabilities enable modern enterprises to leverage their existing file storage assets within and across the borders of their organization. For more information, visit https://nextcloud.com or follow @Nextclouders on Twitter.

Links:

• about Nextcloud: nextcloud.com/about
• Announcement blog: nextcloud.com/blog
• Video Verification in action: youtu.be/Pffusr1bac4
• nextcloud.com/blog about Swiftv3 and systemd log support: nextcloud.com/blog
• nextcloud.com/blog about developer changes in Nextcloud 14: nextcloud.com/blog
• Nextcloud and NEC announcement: Press release
• Nextcloud and NEC announcement blog: nextcloud.com/blog
• Nextcloud Simple Signup announcement: Press release
• Simple Signup annnouncement blog nextcloud.com/blog
• Nextcloud conference: nextcloud.com/conf

Press contacts
Nextcloud GmbH
Jos Poortvliet
Hirschstrasse 26
D-70173 Stuttgart, Germany
e-mail: pr@nextcloud.com