Disclosed is a virtual universal decryption (VUD) service that provides a mechanism for allowing users of camera enabled mobile devices to use their camera to decrypt messages. The VUD service can provide a mechanism for a user of a VUD enabled device to authorize one or more other users of VUD enabled and camera enabled devices to use their cameras to decrypt messages sent by the authorizing user. The VUD service may then provide mechanisms for the authorized users to decrypt messages, which have been encrypted by the authorizing users, by simply capturing an image/video of the encrypted text with a camera of their VUD enabled devices.