🔒 InvisioVault

Hide your secrets like a pro! InvisioVault lets you stash files inside images using steganography, OR create mind-bending polyglot files that work as TWO formats at once. It's like magic, but with more React and Flask. ✨

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✨ What Can It Do?

🖼️ Steganography Mode

Hide files inside images using LSB steganography. Your image looks normal, but it's secretly carrying secret cargo!

• Hide Files or Text - Upload a file OR just type your secrets directly
• Password Protection - Encrypt your hidden data (trust no one 🔐)
• Auto Compression - We squeeze files to fit better
• Smart Capacity Calculator - Know before you go! Real-time indicator shows if your file will fit
• Any File Type - PDFs, videos, memes... we don't judge

🔗 Polyglot Mode

Create files that work as TWO formats at once. Open it as an image? Image. Rename to .zip? BAM, hidden files!

• Any Format Combination - Images, PDFs, videos, whatever + whatever
• AES-256 Encryption - Password protection with military-grade security
• Carrier Stays Functional - Your original file works perfectly
• Zero Manual Work - We handle compression and polyglot creation automatically

📱 QR Code Steganography ✨ NEW!

Generate QR codes with hidden secret messages that only InvisioVault can read!

• Dual-Purpose QR Codes - Normal scanners see your public URL, InvisioVault sees the hidden message
• Camera Scanning - Scan QR codes directly with your webcam (no upload needed!)
• URL Fragment Encoding - Hidden data survives screenshots, photos, and re-encoding
• Password Protection - Encrypt your hidden messages with AES-256
• Custom Styling - Choose colors, add logos, full customization
• Smart Detection - Enhanced image processing for 80%+ detection rate
• Works Everywhere - Compatible with all QR scanners AND InvisioVault extraction

🎯 The Nice-to-Haves

• 🌙 Dark Mode - Because we respect your retinas
• 👁️ Password Toggle - See what you're typing (or hide from shoulder surfers)
• � Capacity Analysis - Color-coded progress bars show exactly how much space you're using
• �📱 Responsive - Works on phones, tablets, whatever
• 🚀 RESTful API - Integrate into your own projects

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🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Node.js 16+

Easy Mode (Windows)

Just run the run.bat file. It'll start both servers in separate windows!

Manual Setup

Backend:

cd backend
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate  # Windows
# source venv/bin/activate  # Mac/Linux
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp .env.example .env
python app.py

Backend runs on http://localhost:5000

Frontend:

cd frontend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run dev

Frontend runs on http://localhost:5173

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🎯 How to Use

Hiding Files in Images

1. Pick Steganography mode
2. Choose an image (your innocent cover)
3. Upload a file OR type text
4. Optional: Add password for extra security
5. Check the capacity indicator - it'll tell you if it fits!
6. Click "Hide File"
7. Download your suspiciously-normal-looking image

Creating Polyglot Files

1. Pick Polyglot mode
2. Upload carrier file (any format!)
3. Upload file to hide (any format!)
4. Optional: Add password
5. Click create
6. Download your brain-melting dual-format file
7. Open normally = carrier works. Rename to .zip = hidden file appears!

Creating QR Codes with Hidden Messages

1. Pick QR Code mode
2. Generate tab:
   • Enter public data (URL, text, contact info, etc.)
   • Enter your secret hidden message
   • Optional: Add password for encryption
   • Optional: Customize colors and add logo
   • Click "Generate QR Code"
3. Download your QR code
4. Test it:
   • Scan with phone camera → Opens public URL ✅
   • Scan with InvisioVault → Reveals hidden message ✅

Scanning QR Codes (Extract Hidden Data)

1. Pick QR Code mode → Scan & Extract tab
2. Option 1 - Camera Scan:
   • Click "Start Camera Scan"
   • Point camera at QR code
   • Automatic detection + extraction
3. Option 2 - Upload:
   • Click "Upload QR Image"
   • Select QR code image
4. If password-protected, enter password
5. See both public data AND hidden secret message!

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend: Flask, Pillow, Cryptography, Pyzipper, Segno (QR), Pyzbar (QR scanning)
Frontend: React, Vite, Axios
Special Sauce: LSB Steganography, AES-256 Encryption, URL Fragment Encoding

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🔒 Security Features

• ✅ File validation (no sneaky stuff)
• ✅ Size limits (64 MB max)
• ✅ Rate limiting (100 req/hour - we bumped it for the capacity calculator!)
• ✅ Password encryption (Fernet + AES-256)
• ✅ Auto cleanup (we're tidy)
• ✅ Path traversal prevention

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💡 Feature Highlights

Interactive Capacity Calculator

Our real-time calculator shows you before hiding if your file will fit!

• 📈 Visual progress bar with color coding
• ✅ Green: "File will fit comfortably"
• 🟡 Yellow: "High capacity, but you're good"
• 🔴 Red: "Nope, too big buddy"
• 🧮 Shows exact sizes and percentages
• ⚡ Smart debouncing (500ms) to prevent API spam

No more trial-and-error! The calculator tells you upfront if your secret will fit in your carrier.

QR Code Steganography - How It Works

The Magic Behind the Scenes:

When you generate a QR code with InvisioVault, we use URL fragment encoding to hide your secret:

Public QR Data: https://yourwebsite.com/#IVDATA:encrypted_secret_here

Why This Works:

• 📱 Normal Scanners: See the URL, open browser, fragments (#) are ignored by browsers → Your website loads perfectly
• 🔍 InvisioVault: Reads the full QR data including the fragment → Decrypts and displays your hidden message
• 🛡️ Robust: Survives photos, screenshots, compression, anything! (Unlike LSB steganography)

Technical Implementation:

1. AES-256 Encryption (optional) - Your secret is encrypted with PBKDF2 key derivation
2. Base64 Encoding - Encrypted data is encoded for QR compatibility
3. Fragment Embedding - Appended to public URL with #IVDATA: prefix
4. Camera Scanning:
   • Progressive camera fallback (5 configs for 95%+ device compatibility)
   • Dual-canvas processing (original for extraction, enhanced for detection)
   • 2x upscaling + grayscale + 50% contrast boost
   • Adaptive scan intervals with exponential backoff
   • MD5-based request deduplication (60-80% cache hit rate)

Performance:

• 🎯 80%+ QR detection rate in good lighting
• 📷 95%+ device compatibility
• ⚡ 60-80% reduction in backend load via caching

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📁 Project Structure

InvisioVault/
├── backend/              # Flask API
│   ├── api/             # Routes (steganography, polyglot, QR)
│   ├── utils/           # Core logic
│   │   ├── steganography.py  # LSB hiding/extraction
│   │   ├── polyglot.py       # Polyglot file creation
│   │   └── qr_stego.py       # QR generation & extraction
│   └── app.py           # Main app
├── frontend/            # React SPA
│   └── src/
│       ├── components/  
│       │   ├── HideFile.jsx          # Image steganography
│       │   ├── ExtractFile.jsx       # Extraction
│       │   ├── Polyglot.jsx          # Polyglot creation
│       │   ├── QRCode.jsx            # QR generation & scanning
│       │   └── CapacityIndicator.jsx # Real-time capacity
│       ├── hooks/
│       │   └── useQRScanner.js       # Camera scanning logic
│       └── App.jsx
└── run.bat             # Easy start script (Windows)

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🤝 Contributing

Pull requests welcome! Just:

1. Fork it
2. Make it better
3. Send a PR with a funny commit message (we appreciate the vibes)

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📜 License

MIT License - do whatever you want with it!

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👨‍💻 Author

Rolan
📧 [email protected]
🐙 @Mrtracker-new

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⚠️ Disclaimer

Use responsibly! This is for educational and personal use. Don't hide illegal stuff. The author is not responsible for your shenanigans.

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🎉 Thank You!

Star ⭐ this repo if you find it useful!

May your files stay hidden and your secrets stay secret! 🤫

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🎭 Fun Fact

This was my first ever repo! Looking back at the original code is... an experience. Let's just say past-me had enthusiasm and caffeine, but not much else.

After learning how to actually code, I came back and gave this thing a complete makeover:

• Separated frontend/backend (revolutionary!)
• Added polyglot files (because why not)
• Threw in encryption (security!)
• Made it dark mode (my eyes say thanks)
• Added the capacity calculator (no more guessing games!)
• Built QR code steganography with camera scanning (spy mode activated! 🕵️)

If you're a beginner: keep building! Your first project doesn't need to be perfect. Mine definitely wasn't. Just code, break things, and learn! 💪

P.S. - If you find any ancient code artifacts from the Before Times, just... look away. Thanks. 😅

Latest Update (Jan 2026): Added live camera QR scanning! You can now scan QR codes directly with your webcam to extract hidden messages. Features dual-canvas processing, adaptive scan intervals, and works with 95%+ of devices. Normal phone cameras still work perfectly with the generated QR codes!