Forgot your photo vault password
What you can do depends on how the app was built. Check for a recovery email or phrase, avoid scam recovery services and know when the door is really closed.
Start in the app's own help, and look for a forgot option, a recovery email or a recovery phrase. Apps that truly encrypt with your secret often cannot reset it for you. In Backroom, tap Use recovery phrase on the pattern screen. If you lose both the pattern and the phrase, nobody can open that vault.
Forgetting a vault code feels awful, and most recovery advice online is either useless or a scam. Here is a calm way through it.
First, work out what kind of app you have
Tied to an account or email. Look for Forgot PIN or Reset on the lock screen. The app may email you a link or code. This is convenient, and it also means the developer or anyone in your email has a way in.
Paid password reset. Some apps charge for this. Hide It Pro, for example, lists a $4.99 Password Reset purchase.
Your secret is the key. With real end-to-end design, the developer cannot help, and a recovery key or phrase is the only way back.
Things worth trying
- Try your old PINs, and the phone passcode, birthdays and common patterns. Check how many attempts it allows first.
- Check your email for an account confirmation from the app. That tells you which address to reset with.
- Write to the developer, using the support link on the App Store page.
- Look for a device backup from before the change, if you changed the code recently.
In Backroom
On the pattern screen, tap Use recovery phrase and enter your 12 words. You then set a new pattern.
If you lost the phrase but still know the pattern, open the vault, go to Settings and make a new phrase, which replaces the old one. If you lost both, we have no way in. We hold no keys, patterns or phrases.
Next time
Write recovery details on paper the moment you create them. Keep the paper where you keep your passport.
Frequently asked questions
Can Apple reset a vault app's password?
No. Apple runs the App Store but not the vault's lock. Contact the app's developer.
Should I pay a recovery service?
Be very careful. Sites promising to crack a vault often want your files or money. If an app's encryption is sound, they cannot do what they promise, and if it is weak, ask the developer first.
I forgot my Backroom pattern and drew something else. Did I make a new vault?
Backroom shows a new-vault screen for any pattern it does not recognize. Tap Draw again or Use recovery phrase. Your existing vault is untouched.