Can Files From a BitLocker Drive Be Accessed on Another Computer?

Conclusion

Yes, you can directly access files transferred from a BitLocker encrypted drive on another computer.

Cause Analysis

BitLocker encrypted files have specific encryption tags or attributes that indicate which parts of the operating system's file system are encrypted. When an encrypted file is copied to an unencrypted location, the file system at the destination location does not have the same encryption tags or attributes, so the encryption status of the file is lost.

To put it simply, when an encrypted file is copied to an unencrypted location, the target location is unable to recognize or retain the encrypted attributes of the original file, resulting in the loss of the file's encryption status. This means that the files are no longer controlled by BitLocker or other encryption protections at the new location and can therefore be accessed and viewed directly.

Let's analyse this whole process. Use BitLocker to encrypt the drive. -> Lock it. -> Unlock it when we need to access the contents. -> Copy the files to another computer. -> View the files on the other computer normally. In this process, using BitLocker to encrypt a drive and locking it is the equivalent of buying a personal safe, then putting your personal belongings in it and setting a password to lock it, and unlocking it is the equivalent of using the password to open the safe. Moving files to another computer can be simply understood as taking the contents of the safe elsewhere, the difference being that the encrypted files are still in an encrypted state.

All in all, feel free to secure your drive with BitLocker, which can significantly enhance your data security.