Your recovery phrase, explained (Guide 2 of 4)
What the 24 words actually do, where to keep them, and how recovery works when you need it.
Every ShareMyVault account has exactly two keys: your vault passphrase, and a 24-word recovery phrase. This guide is about the second one — the sheet of paper that makes a zero-knowledge vault livable.
What the 24 words are
When your vault is created, a master key is generated on your device. That key is then locked twice: once under your passphrase, and once under a key derived from 24 randomly chosen words. Either one can open your vault; we hold neither.
The words come from a standard list (the same system hardware crypto wallets use), which means they're designed to be written down by hand without ambiguity.
Where to keep them
Good places: written on paper with your important documents, in a home safe, or in a bank deposit box. Some people keep a second copy with the same trusted person who'd handle their affairs.
Bad places: a photo on your phone, a note in your email drafts, a cloud document, a password manager that syncs to the same devices. The recovery phrase is the one secret that should live offline — its job is to survive the loss of your devices and your memory.
How recovery actually works
Forgot your passphrase? On the login page, switch to Recovery phrase, sign in with your account password, type the 24 words, and choose a new vault passphrase. Behind the scenes, the words unlock your master key and re-lock it under the new passphrase. Your items are untouched — nothing needs re-encrypting, and the old passphrase stops working immediately.
You can also view your recovery phrase any time from Recovery inside the vault (it asks for your passphrase first) — useful if you want to make a fresh paper copy.
What to tell your family
The honest version: "If something happens to me, the instructions are in ShareMyVault. The recovery phrase is in [the place]." Your beneficiaries don't need your keys day-to-day — they get their own accounts — but someone you trust should know where the paper lives.
And the warning we repeat everywhere, because it's true: lose both the passphrase and the words, and no one can bring the data back. Not support, not a court order, not us. Keep the paper safe.
Next: Guide 3 — Adding what matters — filling your vault without getting overwhelmed.