Why your workspace belongs in Switzerland
Where your workspace runs decides which laws reach your data. Rhaetix is built, operated and hosted in Switzerland, by design and not as an afterthought.
Two ways to run a workspace
A typical US cloud suite
- Subject to the US CLOUD Act, wherever the data centre is
- The provider holds the keys and can access content
- Applicable law: United States
Rhaetix
- Swiss company under Swiss law, outside the CLOUD Act
- End-to-end encrypted messaging: we couldn’t read it if we wanted to
- Applicable law: Switzerland
The CLOUD Act problem
The US CLOUD Act (2018) requires US providers to disclose data to US authorities, regardless of where that data is stored – it applies globally. An EU or Swiss data centre does not change this: what matters is who controls the provider.
If your workspace runs on a US cloud suite, this legal reach extends to your documents, mails and messages. As a Swiss company with no US corporate presence, Rhaetix is outside the CLOUD Act’s reach.
Swiss privacy law
Switzerland has one of the world’s strongest privacy traditions. The revised Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP, 2023) sets strict rules for handling personal data, and Switzerland is recognised by the EU as providing an adequate level of data protection.
Disclosure to foreign authorities runs through Swiss legal assistance procedures, with Swiss courts involved rather than foreign administrative orders.
Sovereignty in practice, not just on paper
Jurisdiction is only half the story. Rhaetix adds the technical half: chat messages and shared files in encrypted channels, plus call signalling, are end-to-end encrypted before they leave your device. Messaging keys stay on your devices. For that data, even under legal compulsion, what we could hand over is ciphertext.
And if you want zero dependence on any provider, including us, you can self-host the entire workspace on your own infrastructure.
Bring your data home
Contact uscontact@rhaetix.com