Getting started with ShareMyVault (Guide 1 of 4)
From signup to your first unlocked vault in about five minutes — including the one choice that matters: your vault passphrase.
This is the first of four short guides that take you from a blank account to a vault your family could actually rely on. Total time: about an evening, with most of it spent gathering your own information rather than using the app.
Step 1: Create your account
Head to the signup page and enter your email and a password. Two things to know:
- No credit card. The free plan needs nothing but an email address and never expires.
- The checkboxes are real choices. You must accept the terms to continue; the marketing emails are optional and nothing is pre-ticked.
We'll send a confirmation link to your email. Click it, then log in.
Step 2: Understand the two passwords
This is the only genuinely unusual thing about ShareMyVault, and it's worth thirty seconds.
Your account password signs you in — it's a normal login, and like any login it can be reset by email.
Your vault passphrase is different. It's set up after your first login, and it becomes the encryption key for everything inside your vault — transformed, on your own device, into a key we never see. It cannot be reset by us, because we never have it. That's not a limitation; it's the entire point. A vault we could reset would be a vault we could read.
Choose a passphrase of at least 12 characters. A memorable sentence works better than a string of symbols you'll forget.
Step 3: Save your 24 words
Right after you set your passphrase, you'll see a 24-word recovery phrase. This is your safety net: if you ever forget your passphrase, these words unlock your vault and let you set a new one.
Write them on paper. Keep the paper where you keep important documents — with your passport, in the file at home. Don't photograph it, don't email it to yourself, don't put it in a notes app.
If you lose both your passphrase and the 24 words, your data is gone — for everyone, including us. We're upfront about this because it's the trade-off that keeps your vault truly private.
Step 4: You're in
That's it — your vault is live and encrypted. The dashboard shows the sections waiting for you: credentials, assets, beneficiaries, trustees. The vault locks itself after ten minutes of inactivity, and you can lock it instantly from the sidebar whenever you step away.
Next: Guide 2 — Your recovery phrase, explained covers what those 24 words actually do, and what to tell your family about them.