Guide

What Happens If You Forget Your Vault Passphrase?

Published November 10, 2026

Why there is no reset button

The files are encrypted with a key that is built from your passphrase. The app never has your passphrase and the developer never has your files, so there is nothing a support team could use to open the vault. A reset option would mean a second way in, and a second way in is a back door.

Your real options

• Keep trying. Some apps slow down after wrong guesses, and Sealed adds a growing wait, so take your time and think about what you would have used.
• Use the recovery key. Sealed offers an optional printable 24-word recovery key. If you made one, this is what it is for.
• Use a backup or a copy you exported. A Sealed backup file opens with its own backup password, not your vault passphrase, so if you remember that password you can restore it into Sealed on another iPhone. Files you exported earlier are not locked behind the vault.

If you have none of these, the files cannot be recovered. We would rather say that plainly than promise otherwise.

Set it up today

1. Pick a passphrase you can remember without writing it in your phone. Four unrelated words is a good pattern.
2. Create the recovery key in Sealed and print it.
3. Store the paper somewhere safe and separate from your phone, such as a home safe or a folder with other important documents.
4. Do not store the recovery key in Photos, Notes or Mail on the same iPhone.
5. Test that you can read the recovery key back correctly before you rely on it.

A question to ask any vault app

Ask what happens if you forget your passphrase. If the answer is that support will email you a reset link, then the company holds a way to open your files or can wipe them, and you should know which one. Our checklist on what to verify before trusting a vault has the rest.