Recovering your secrets

There will be times when you need to use a recovery key to unlock Secrets.

This will be necessary, for example, if you are restoring from a backup or migrating to a new device. The recovery key is required in these scenarios because the key you unlock with your passphrase, Face ID, or whatever unlock method you have chosen never leaves your device. So it is never backed up or migrated. Thus the importance of creating a recovery key/paper device and keeping it in a safe place.

Usually, Secrets will detect that the regular key is missing and, if a recovery key has been created, it will automatically prompt for that.

However, there are other cases where a recovery key may be needed. For example, if your unlock method is set to Passphrase and you have forgotten it. In this case, Secrets will still prompt you for your passphrase. But there’s a way to tell Secrets you want to unlock with your recovery key.

To use your recovery key with Secrets on a Mac:

1. Right-click on the unlock button.
2. Choose "Recover" from the context menu.
3. Click the "Scan Key" or "Enter Manually" button to either scan the printed key's QR Code or to type it in manually.

To use your recovery key with Secrets on a iOS device:

1. Long press on the unlock button
2. Choose "Recover" from the context menu
3. Tap the "Scan Key" or "Enter Manually" button to either scan the printed key's QR Code or to type it in manually.

After unlocking with your recovery key, Secrets will be in “recovery mode”. In this mode, you can go to the app’s settings and freely change your unlock method.

This will create a new set of keys for the device, so you’ll need to add it again to your trusted device list to continue syncing with your iCloud vaults.