What happens if I forget the vault passcode or lose the recovery code?
The recovery code is the only other way in: with it you can open the vault on any device and set a new passcode. If the passcode is forgotten and the code is lost, the files cannot be decrypted — there is no account, no master key and no reset on our side. Store the code somewhere other than the phone.
Reviewed 30 July 2026
The vault encrypts your files with a single master key that is generated on your device. That key is then wrapped twice: once by your passcode, and once by your recovery code. Either one opens the vault, and neither exists anywhere but on your device.
This is what makes the guarantee real. Because we hold no copy of the key, we cannot open your vault — not for anyone else, and not for you. An app that can email you a reset link is an app that holds something capable of opening your vault; that is a different trade, and this is not the one FoxDL makes.
What to do about it
- Write the recovery code down when it is shown at setup, and keep it somewhere the phone is not — a password manager, or paper in a drawer.
- Choose a passcode you can reconstruct from memory in a year. You will not be typing it daily, and Face ID will hide the fact that you have forgotten it.
- Once a year, open the vault with the passcode rather than a biometric match, to prove to yourself that you still know it.
- Before changing phones, check that the vault is included in your backup — and keep the recovery code, because the passcode itself is stored in a way that does not travel between devices.
Changing the passcode later is instant and safe: only the envelope is rewrapped, so nothing is re-encrypted and nothing can be lost in the process. Generating a new recovery code replaces the old one, which stops working from that moment.