If you lose your phone

Losing your iPhone is stressful. This page explains what still protects your Paperwise vault on the lost phone, the steps to take now, and how to get your documents back on a new one.

What it is

What protects your vault on the lost phone:

Paperwise’s encryption. Everything Paperwise stores on that iPhone (pages, files, photos, thumbnails and the database of titles, text, notes and tags) is encrypted with its own key, kept in that iPhone’s Keychain for that device only.
The iPhone’s own lock. It still matters: the vault’s key isn’t behind Face ID, so anyone who can unlock the phone gets as far as the app lock.
The app lock, when it’s on. Opening Paperwise needs Face ID (or the phone’s passcode). With the app lock off, anyone who can unlock the phone can open your vault.
Hidden. Hidden items have their own keys and always need Face ID to open, plus your Hidden passcode or pattern if you set one. Without a Hidden passcode, Hidden is as strong as the Face ID check on that phone.

What gets your documents back:

your encrypted iCloud backup (free), opened with your recovery key, or
sync (Pro), if another device of yours has your vault, or with your recovery key on a new device.

Step by step

Right away

Lock or erase the phone with Apple’s Find My. That protects everything on it, Paperwise included.
Remove the lost phone from your Paperwise account, if you use an account. On another device that has your account key, open Account → Devices, tap the lost iPhone, tap Remove and confirm. It stops syncing and receiving forwarded email, and it’s signed out.
Turn off share links you no longer want open. Open Shared links from the Vault (under More) on a signed-in device and tap Turn off on any you want to end. See Turn off and manage links.

If you have no other device with your account key, do step 2 after setting up your new phone (below).

Get your documents back on a new iPhone

Sign in to iCloud on the new iPhone with the same Apple ID and install Paperwise.
If you had the iCloud backup on: on the first screen, tap Restore from iCloud backup and type your recovery key. See Restore from backup.
If you used sync: sign in with Apple in Account. On Set up this iPhone, choose Use another device to scan a code with your iPad, or Enter recovery key. Then turn on Sync across devices. If you restored the backup first, Paperwise asks whether to add the restored documents to your account.
Open Hidden with each space’s own Hidden recovery key. In Hidden, tap I use Hidden on another iPhone (or use the recovery key from the lock screen) and follow the steps. See Recovery key and Forgot passcode.
Back on Account → Devices, remove the lost iPhone if you haven’t yet.

Free and Pro

The iCloud backup is free. Sync, Forward by email and share links are Pro. Removing a device is available to anyone with a Paperwise account.

Privacy

Privacy: What Paperwise keeps in the cloud for you, your synced copies and your iCloud backup, is encrypted on your devices with keys we don’t have. Someone who breaks into our servers or your iCloud storage can’t read your documents there.

Honest limits

Removing the lost phone doesn’t erase it. It keeps the documents it already has. Erasing the phone with Find My is what removes them.
The lost phone still holds your account key. Removing it stops it syncing and signs it out, but a device that has your account key keeps it, and changing your recovery key doesn’t change the account key. Rotating the account key is planned but not available yet.
Anyone who can unlock the phone and pass the app lock (or who finds the app lock off) can see your vault. Hidden needs Face ID too, and your Hidden passcode if you set one; that’s why a Hidden passcode is worth having.
No backup, no sync, no copy. Your iPhone’s own device backups leave your Paperwise documents out, and the vault’s key never left the lost phone. If neither Paperwise’s backup nor sync was on, the documents that were only on the lost phone can’t be brought back.
No recovery key, no recovery. If you lose every device and your recovery key, nobody can open your backup or synced items, including us. Hidden spaces likewise need their own recovery keys on a new phone.
Share links made while signed out can’t be listed or turned off. They stop working on their own when they expire, at most 7 days after they were made.

Tips

Do it now, before anything goes wrong: turn on the iCloud backup, keep your recovery key and each Hidden recovery key somewhere safe away from your phone, and keep the app lock on.
Add a Hidden passcode or pattern so the phone’s own passcode can’t open Hidden. See Unlock options.
If you use Forward by email, consider changing your forwarding address after a loss. See Forward by email.

What if…

What if I can’t remove the lost phone from my account?

Removing a device needs a device with your account key. Set up your new iPhone first with Enter recovery key, then remove the old one in Account → Devices.

What if I find the phone again?

Sign in again on it with the same account. If it shows Set up this iPhone, use another device or your recovery key. Its documents were never erased by removing it: when Paperwise asks whether to add them to your account, choose Add to my account.

What if I want the documents off a phone I still have but no longer use?

Sign out on it and choose Remove this account’s documents from this iPhone, or delete Paperwise from it. See Sign out.

What if I lost my recovery key too?

If you still have another device with your account key, set up the new iPhone from it with Add a device by code, then change your recovery key from Account and save the new one. If you have no device and no recovery key, the backup and synced items can’t be opened.

What if I never turned on the backup or sync?

The documents that were only on the lost phone can’t be recovered by Paperwise. Turn on the backup on your new phone so it doesn’t happen again.