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I am not new to Linux but I am new to Linux Mint since I switched from Ubuntu due to reasons out of scope of this question (snapd, update borked my computer)

I selected for FDE (Full Disk Encryption) during the graphical installation process. I then saw the option to encrypt the home folder and I clicked that as well.

I then remembered that from the Ubuntu FDE documentation that only the /home partition is encrypted. However the Mint documentation is much less clearer on that regard:

If you are new to Linux use home directory encryption instead (you can select it later during the installation). source

When I checked the Known Issues page, the wording seemed to imply that both were separate

Benchmarks have demonstrated that, in most cases, home directory encryption is slower than full disk encryption. source

Can they be both enabled at once or will encrypting the home folder remove all other FDE on the system?

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I have answered the question by myself.

I emailed Clement (project leader of Mint) and this was his response:

You can have one or the other, or both, or none at all. FDE is faster and safer (it doesn't just encrypt your home, but also the entire HDD including swap, temporary files which might be left on the HDD..etc.).

HDE is more convenient since it's tied to your login password and doesn't require entering an extra password. It provided additional security in the past since it unmounted the decrypted home on logout, but this is no longer the case, so if you're using FDE, you don't really need HDE anymore.

In terms of performance, on modern specs, both are pretty good and not noticeable.

Regards, Clement Lefebvre Linux Mint

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