Your recovery key

A recovery key is a 32-character code that Paperwise shows you once. It’s the spare key to what Paperwise keeps encrypted for you. We don’t have a copy, so if you lose your devices, it’s the only way back in.

What it is

Paperwise can give you up to three kinds of recovery key. Each one opens something different.

Key	You get it when	It opens
Your account’s recovery key	You create a Paperwise account with Sign in with Apple	Your account key, so a new iPhone or iPad can read your synced items. Also your iCloud backup, if the backup uses it.
A backup recovery key	You turn on the iCloud backup without an account, or choose Use a separate key for the backup	Your iCloud backup, nothing else
A Hidden space’s recovery key	You set up Hidden, and each time you add a separate space (Pro)	That one Hidden space

Your account’s key and Hidden’s keys are always separate. The account key on its own opens no Hidden item.

Your account’s recovery key

When you create an account, your iPhone makes a random account key. It locks everything you sync, and it never reaches our servers in readable form. To let you get it back, Paperwise stores one copy on our server, locked with your recovery key (an “escrow”). Without the recovery key that copy is useless, to us and to anyone who breaks into our servers. The key is 128 bits long, so it can’t be guessed.

You need it when you set up a new device and have no other signed-in device to scan a code from, and to restore an iCloud backup that uses it. Reinstalling Paperwise counts as a new device: a reinstall starts fresh and keeps none of the old keys. If you delete your account but keep the backup, this key still opens the backup.

Your backup recovery key

If you turn on the iCloud backup while signed in with an account key on this iPhone, Paperwise asks for your account’s recovery key so there’s only one key to keep. Without an account (or if you choose a separate key), the backup gets its own key, shown once. You need it to restore the backup on a new iPhone, or on this one after reinstalling Paperwise.

A Hidden space’s recovery key

Each Hidden space has its own key, shown once when the space is set up. It opens that space if Face ID changes (for example, after you add a new face) or you forget its passcode; after a Face ID change, each space needs its own key to open again. It also brings back the space’s synced or backed-up copies on another iPhone, including a space erased by an emergency passcode.

Step by step

Save a recovery key

Every recovery key screen works the same way:

Copy the key with Copy, or write it down. For a Hidden space you can also tap Save as PDF / Print; the print job has a neutral name.
Put it somewhere safe that doesn’t depend on this iPhone: a password manager, or a printed copy at home.
Tick I saved my recovery key (for Hidden: I saved this recovery key), then tap Done.

Copied keys stay on this device (no Universal Clipboard) and the clipboard clears after 60 seconds. The key isn’t selectable text, so use the Copy button.

Change your account’s recovery key

You can make a new account recovery key from any device that has your account key, for example if you think someone saw the old one or you lost it.

Open Account (your avatar on the Vault).
In Back up my stuff, tap Recovery key.
Paperwise asks Change your recovery key? Tap Change.
Tap Make a new recovery key, save the new key, tick I saved my recovery key and tap Done.

If your iCloud backup uses your account’s key, it’s switched to the new key at once and the change reaches iCloud with the next backup run. Until then, the old key still opens the backup.

Privacy: Changing the recovery key replaces the escrow; it doesn’t change your account key. Devices that already have your account key keep it. Our database provider keeps about 30 days of history, so for about 30 days an old recovery key could still open the old escrow from that history (still encrypted, and only for us or someone who compromises our provider account). Changing the account key itself is planned.

Without an account, Recovery key opens the backup screen instead, since the backup’s key is the only one.

Hidden recovery keys can’t be changed or shown again. Hidden → ••• → Hidden settings → Recovery key explains this.

Privacy

Paperwise never keeps a readable copy of any recovery key, on your iPhone or on our servers.
Our server holds your account key only locked by your recovery key. The iCloud backup’s key is also kept in your iCloud only locked by a recovery key, so Apple can’t open the backup.
If you lose every device and your recovery key, nobody can recover your data, including us.

Tips

Don’t keep your only copy inside Paperwise or only on this iPhone.
If you also use Hidden, label each key so you know which is which. They look alike.
Lost the key but still have your iPhone? Make a new one now, while you can.

What if…

What if I lost my account’s recovery key but still have a signed-in device?

Make a new one right away: Account → Recovery key → Change. Your synced items stay readable on your devices.

What if I lost every device and my account’s recovery key?

Then your synced items can’t be read by anyone, not even Paperwise. Delete the account in Account → the plan card → Delete account (without the account key, the deletion runs after 7 days), then sign in again to start a new account. The Lost both? link on Set up this iPhone says the same.

What if I lost my separate backup recovery key?

While you still have the iPhone and Paperwise on it, you can delete the backup (Account → iCloud backup → Delete backup) and turn it on again. You get a new key and a fresh backup of what’s on this iPhone. If the iPhone is gone too, the backup can’t be opened.

What if I lost a Hidden space’s recovery key?

Paperwise can’t show it again. As long as Face ID (and its passcode, if it has one) still opens the space, you can keep using it. If Face ID changes or you forget the passcode, the space can’t be opened without the key. See Recovery key and Forgot passcode.

What if I’m asked for a recovery key and don’t know which one?

Restoring an iCloud backup asks for the key you saved when you turned on the backup (your account’s key, if you have an account and didn’t choose a separate one). Setting up a new device for sync asks for your account’s key. Hidden asks for that space’s own key.