--- title: Photo vault recovery: what you can get back, and what nobody can canonical: https://mavaul.com/guides/photo-vault-recovery/ description: Forgot the passcode, deleted the app, got a new iPhone, lost the phone. What a photo vault can recover in each case, and the two things to set up before you need them. format: text/markdown generator: scripts/generate-llms.js --- # Photo vault recovery: what you can get back, and what nobody can _By [Diogo Ferreira](/about/), founder & engineer_ A vault that encrypts on the phone can't be reset by the company that made it. That's the whole idea. So recovery depends on two things you keep yourself: a recovery key, and a backup. With both, almost every bad day ends with your photos back. With neither, some of them end with the photos gone for good. ## Why "we'll reset it for you" is a warning sign If a vault company can reset your passcode and hand you your photos, it holds a key that opens them, or it keeps a copy on its servers. Either way, someone other than you can get in. A vault that encrypts on the phone, with no account, can only be opened with something you have. Mavaul works this way: your passcode or your 24-character recovery key unlocks the vault, and we never have either. The honest version of recovery isn't a support ticket. It's a key and a backup you set up on a good day. ## You forgot the passcode This is the case a recovery key is for. In Mavaul, tap Forgot Passcode on the lock screen. On the calculator lock screen, long-press the display or the = button. Type your recovery key, set a new passcode, and the vault opens with every photo where you left it. Can't find the key? Search your email for "Mavaul Recovery Key", if you used email recovery. Check your password manager or wherever you wrote it down. If the vault is still open on the phone, go to Settings, then Recovery Key, and save it now. [Forgot your vault passcode?](/guides/forgot-photo-vault-passcode/) has the details. Typing wrong codes doesn't erase anything. After five wrong tries Mavaul locks for 15 minutes, then 1, 3 and 6 hours. The photos wait. ## You deleted the app On iPhone, deleting an app deletes its files. For a vault that keeps everything on the phone, that means the photos go with it. Don't count on getting them back any way other than a backup you made. Mavaul's encrypted backup (Premium) writes the vault to your own Dropbox, a Nextcloud or WebDAV server, or Files. It leaves the phone already encrypted, and Mavaul never hosts it. Reinstall, choose Restore, pick the backup, type your recovery key. ## You got a new iPhone Same answer, planned ahead. Make a fresh backup on the old phone, restore it on the new one with your recovery key, and set a passcode there. [Moving my vault to a new iPhone](/scenarios/new-iphone-move-private-photos/) walks through it. Do this before you erase or trade in the old phone, not after. ## You lost the phone Whoever has it gets encrypted files and a lock screen with growing lockouts. Without your passcode or recovery key, the photos stay unreadable. To get them back yourself, restore your latest backup onto a new phone. Anything you added after that backup is gone, which is the argument for backing up after a big import. ## You deleted a photo inside the vault Treat a delete as final. If it matters, export it or back up before you clean house. ## Set up these two things today Save your recovery key somewhere off the phone: a password manager, or paper in a drawer. With Premium, email recovery sends you a copy after you confirm your address with a 6-digit code. You can't request it from the lock screen, because Mavaul keeps no readable copy of the key. Make a backup, and make another after you add a lot. A backup is only as recent as the last time you ran it. ## Questions ### Can Mavaul recover my photos if I lose my key? No. Nobody can, and that includes us. It's the trade for a vault only you can open. ### Does the recovery key open my backups too? Yes. One key opens the vault and any backup made from it, so keep it as safe as the backup itself. ### What about other vault apps? Read how they say recovery works before you trust them with photos. If it needs an account and a cloud copy, ask who else can open that copy. [Are photo vault apps safe?](/guides/are-photo-vault-apps-safe/) has five things to check. ## Sources - [NIST SP 800-132: Password-based key derivation](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/132/final) - [NIST SP 800-38D: Galois/Counter Mode (GCM)](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/38/d/final) ## Read next - [Forgot your vault passcode?](/guides/forgot-photo-vault-passcode/) - [Moving my vault to a new iPhone](/scenarios/new-iphone-move-private-photos/) - [Are photo vault apps safe?](/guides/are-photo-vault-apps-safe/) ## Try Mavaul [Download Mavaul on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/pt/app/mavaul-photo-video-vault/id6759567727?l=en-GB)