Recovery key and Forgot passcode

Your Hidden recovery key is the way back in when you forget your Hidden passcode or pattern, or when Face ID changes on your iPhone. Paperwise never keeps a copy, so it can’t recover it for you.

What it is

Each space in Hidden has its own recovery key: 32 letters and numbers in 8 groups, shown once when the space was set up. It can:

open that space if you forget its code or pattern
open Hidden again after Face ID changes on this iPhone (for example, after you add a new face or fingerprint, which makes iOS retire the old Face ID key)
restore that space’s synced or backed-up items on another iPhone

It’s separate from your account’s recovery key (used for sync and the iCloud backup).

Step by step

Forgot your code or pattern

Open Hidden. On Hidden is locked, tap Forgot passcode?.
On Enter your recovery key, type the key.
Tap Unlock.
On Choose a new passcode (“Your recovery key worked. Set a new code or pattern for this space.”), set a new code or pattern.
Tap Save and open. The space opens with your new passcode.

The recovery key opens the space it belongs to, and only that one.

Face ID changed

If Face ID on this iPhone changed, Hidden goes straight to Enter your recovery key and says why. Type the key and tap Unlock. Hidden re-locks its keys under your new Face ID and confirms: “Hidden is open. Next time, Face ID opens it.” If Hidden also has a passcode, you’re asked to choose a new one.

If you have more than one space (Pro), each space needs its own recovery key after the change. The key you type brings back only its own space. For each other space, lock Hidden, tap Forgot passcode?, enter that space’s key and choose a new passcode for it. Emergency passcodes set before the change no longer work; set them again.

If you think Face ID just failed for a moment, tap Try Face ID again.

A key for a space that isn’t on this iPhone

If the key doesn’t match any space here and Hidden has a passcode, Paperwise offers Restore a space with this key. Choose a passcode for it and tap Restore: its items arrive as they sync. This needs Pro. On an iPhone where Hidden isn’t set up yet, use Set up Hidden → I use Hidden on another iPhone instead. You can restore one space per 24 hours on an iPhone, the same limit as creating a new one, so moving several spaces to a new iPhone takes a few days.

No recovery key: erase Hidden on this iPhone

If you can’t find the key, what’s in Hidden can’t be opened. To start again:

On Enter your recovery key, tap Erase Hidden on this iPhone….
Read the warning: every hidden item, passcode and recovery key on this iPhone is erased. This can’t be undone.
Tap Erase.
Confirm it’s you with Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone’s passcode. Without that, nothing is erased.

Paperwise confirms “Hidden was erased on this iPhone.” You can then set Hidden up again.

Free and Pro

Using your recovery key and erasing Hidden are free.

Pro: restoring an extra space from its recovery key, and syncing Hidden across devices.

Privacy

Paperwise never stores your recovery key. The Recovery key row in Hidden settings can only remind you of that; it can’t show the key again.
Erase Hidden on this iPhone erases everything in Hidden on this iPhone only. Copies synced to your account or kept in your encrypted iCloud backup stay encrypted, and each space can be restored later with its recovery key.
Signing out, and the question about documents when you sign in, never touch Hidden. Deleting your account erases Hidden on this iPhone only if you turn on Also erase everything on this iPhone.
Deleting and reinstalling Paperwise deletes Hidden’s keys from this iPhone. Spaces restored from your iCloud backup or by sync then open only with each space’s recovery key.
If you lose every device and the recovery key, nobody can recover what was in Hidden, including us.

Tips

Store each recovery key away from the iPhone: on paper, or in a password manager you can reach from another device. Save as PDF / Print gives you a one-page printout.
When you choose a new passcode after recovery, it uses the same keyboard as your other Hidden codes (numbers or letters), or a pattern.

What if…

What if it says “That recovery key doesn’t match”?

Check for typos: the key uses only letters and numbers, in 8 groups of 4. Make sure it’s the key for this space, not your account’s recovery key or another space’s.

What if it says the key doesn’t match anything synced yet?

If you’re restoring a space from another iPhone, its items may not have arrived. Wait for sync or for the iCloud backup restore to finish, then try again.

What if I erased Hidden by mistake?

What was only on this iPhone is gone. Spaces that were synced or in your encrypted iCloud backup come back with their recovery keys.