Account
Account recovery
zcrypt is zero-knowledge by design, which makes recovery a two-sided story: getting back into your account is routine, but getting back the secret that decrypts your files is impossible if you lose it.
Two very different things
“I'm locked out” can mean two completely different situations in zcrypt, and they have opposite outcomes. Knowing which one you're in tells you immediately whether recovery is possible.
| You lost… | Recoverable? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Account password | Yes | Email password reset |
| Authenticator (2FA) | Yes, with care | Your other sign-in methods / backups |
| Vault passphrase | No | Nothing, by design |
| Folder password | No | Nothing, by design |
What we can recover: account access
Getting back into your account is a normal, supported flow, because your account credentials live on the server (as hashes) where they can be reset or re-issued.
- •Forgot your password? Request a reset link by email and choose a new one. See Authentication & 2FA.
- •Sign in with a provider. If you linked Google or GitHub, you can log in through OAuth even without your password.
- •Lost your authenticator? If you can still sign in another way, you can manage two-factor from settings. Keep a backup of your TOTP secret or a second sign-in method so a lost phone doesn't become a lockout.
Recovering account access gets you back to your file list. It does not unlock your files: for that you still need your vault passphrase.
What we cannot recover: your data
This is the part to read twice. zcrypt is zero-knowledge: your files are encrypted on your device with keys derived from your vault passphrase, and that passphrase is never sent to the server. We hold only ciphertext.
If you lose your vault passphrase, your files are gone
There is no reset link, no backdoor, and no support request that can recover a lost vault passphrase, not for you, and not for us. Without it, the keys that decrypt your files cannot be reconstructed, so the files (and their folder names) are permanently unreadable. This is not a limitation we can lift; it is the whole point of zero-knowledge encryption. The same protection that stops usfrom reading your data stops anyone from restoring it once the passphrase is lost.
Folder passwords are the same. Any folder you secure with its own password is encrypted under a key derived from that password. Lose the folder password and that folder's contents are unrecoverable, even while the rest of your vault opens normally.
How to protect your passphrase
Because the passphrase can never be recovered, protecting it is entirely on you, and it's straightforward:
- •Use a password manager. Store your vault passphrase (and any folder passwords) in a reputable manager like 1Password, Bitwarden, or KeePass. This is the single best thing you can do.
- •Choose a long, memorable passphrase rather than a short complex one, length beats cleverness.
- •Keep at least one secure offline copy somewhere only you can reach, especially before storing anything important.
- •Never email it to yourself or paste it into a chat. That would defeat the zero-knowledge guarantee.