Prepare a Duress Passcode Before You Need It

A duress passcode is a second passcode, with Pro, for when someone forces you to unlock your phone. It looks like a normal unlock, and behind it, everything else is erased. Because it's so final, the time to prepare is now, not when you need it.

What Happens When You Enter It

• It unlocks like normal. Nothing on screen looks different.
• In one silent step, every other vault on the phone is erased: their keys are destroyed, so their files can never be decrypted again. The files are then deleted in the background.
• An empty vault opens, set aside just for this when you turned the duress passcode on. It shows no sign that duress was used.

The erase works by destroying each vault's key rather than wiping files one at a time, which is why it takes one silent step. Once a key is gone, its files can never be decrypted again. There's no decoy vault to fill in: the vault it opens is empty.

Back Up Before You Turn It On

Erased vaults can come back, but only from a backup and its recovery phrase. Before you rely on a duress passcode:

1. 1Open each vault and tap Back Up Now.
2. 2Save each .hypa file somewhere off the phone.
3. 3Check you have every vault's 12-word recovery phrase on paper.

Afterwards, restoring a backup with its recovery phrase brings an erased vault back, with what it held when you made the backup.

Choose a Code You Won't Type by Mistake

Pick a code that's nothing like your everyday passcode, so a slip of the thumb can't trigger it.

Keep Your Backups Current

A backup holds what the vault held when you made it. HypaVault reminds you when your last backup is more than 14 days old. Treat that reminder as part of keeping a duress passcode, so less is lost if you ever need to use it.