Your documents aren’t really yours: The case for decentralized document management

Centralized document platforms like SharePoint and Google Docs create risks around data integrity, availability, and ownership — especially across organizational boundaries. The post argues for decentralized document management using IPFS, where files are identified by cryptographic content hashes rather than location, giving each participant full control over their own data copy. IPFS-cluster handles decentralized pinning coordination, and versioning is managed via metadata linking. TruSpace, an open source implementation built on this approach, adds a private IPFS backbone, workspace UI, and local AI analysis via Ollama to avoid dependency on centralized LLM providers. Challenges include higher installation/maintenance overhead and UX complexity compared to centralized tools, with future work aimed at bridging to existing tools like Nextcloud.