Set up Private vaults

Setting up Private vaults takes a couple of minutes, once per iPhone: Face ID, a short explanation, and your vaults key, which you keep on paper. Then you draw your first pattern.

What it is

The first visit does three things:

Face ID. Private vaults need Face ID (or Touch ID) on the iPhone.
A short explanation: “A vault opens with Face ID and a pattern. Each pattern opens its own vault, and a new pattern starts a new, empty vault. Paperwise never lists your vaults or says how many there are.”
Your vaults key. One key brings back all your recoverable vaults on a new iPhone, together with each vault’s pattern. It starts with VK- and has 9 groups of 4 letters and numbers. The last group catches typing mistakes.

The vaults key is shown once. Paperwise never keeps it: not on this iPhone, not in iCloud, not on our servers. It’s separate from your account’s recovery key and can’t sign in, restore your documents or erase anything. See The vaults key and recovery.

No account needed. Private vaults work without signing in. You only need Sign in with Apple to sync vaults to your other devices.

Step by step

Open Private vaults for the first time

On Home, tap the round lock button next to your avatar. If you’ve turned that button off, go to Account → Lock and privacy → Open Private vaults.
Confirm with Face ID.
Read the explanation and tap Continue.
Choose Make my vaults key, or I have a vaults key if you already made one on another iPhone.

Make and save your vaults key

Your vaults key shows the key. Screenshots are blocked while it’s on screen.
Keep it in one of two ways:
- Print: prints it on a printer you pick. Print only on a printer you trust: some printers and print services keep a copy of what they print.
- Write it down: copy the 9 groups by hand, exactly as shown.
Tap I’ve saved it.
“Type the whole key from your copy, to be sure it’s right.” Type it and tap Check and save. If you need to look again, tap Show the key again.

Paperwise asks you to keep it on paper, or in a password manager you trust: not in iCloud Drive, Files, Photos or Notes, and not on this iPhone. There’s no copy button and no PDF, on purpose.

Use a key you already have

Tap I have a vaults key.
Type it from your copy and tap Use this key. Paperwise checks it against your account or your restored backup and keeps only its public half.

If it says “This key can’t be checked yet”, restore your Sync & Backup or iCloud backup first (Account → Restore), then try again. If you lost the key, tap I lost it → Make my vaults key.

Draw your first pattern

After the key, you see Draw a pattern. Connect at least 6 dots (8 if the vault should be recoverable, which is the default). The vault opens. It’s kept as soon as you save something in it. See Open a vault.

Free and Pro

Setting up Private vaults, your first vault and the vaults key are free. Syncing vaults across devices needs Pro.

Privacy

The keys that open your vaults are made on your iPhone and need Face ID. They aren’t sent to us.
The phone keeps only the vaults key’s public half, which can lock recovery copies but never open them.
Set-up happens before any vault exists, so it says nothing about how many vaults you’ll have.

Tips

Keep the paper with your vaults key somewhere safe at home, not in your phone case or wallet.
Don’t write any pattern next to the key: recovering a vault needs both, and they’re safest apart.

What if…

What if it says “Private vaults need Face ID. Turn it on in Settings.”?

Set up Face ID (or Touch ID) in the iOS Settings app, then open Private vaults again.

What if it says “That’s not the key shown”?

Check each group against your copy and type it again. “One character is wrong” means the checksum caught a typo.

What if I closed the app before saving the key?

Open Private vaults again and make a new key. A key that was never confirmed isn’t used.