Getting started with Inlockly
From creating your account to your first automatic sign-in. Eight steps, about fifteen minutes, and your vault is ready for everyday use - on your computer, your phone, and in your browser.
Blog · Inside Inlockly
Recovery key: what to do if you forget your master password
With zero-knowledge encryption, nobody but you has the key to your vault - not even us. That's why you get a recovery key when you sign up. Here's how it works and where to keep it.
Contents
Why we can’t reset your password
With a typical online service, “Forgot password” sends you a link and that’s it - the service has access to your data. A zero-knowledge password manager works differently: your master password never reaches the server, and the key to your vault is derived from it on your device. So we have nothing we could use to decrypt your data for you. That’s not a flaw - it’s proof that nobody but you can read it.
The recovery key - your emergency exit
When you sign up, Inlockly creates a recovery key: 28 characters in seven groups of four. This key decrypts your private vault independently of your master password.
- It’s required - your account isn’t created until you save it.
- It’s checked on your device - only proof that you have it reaches the server.
- It catches typos - a checksum flags a mistake before anything is sent.
- It works once - after you recover your account, you get a new key and the old one stops working.
How to recover your account
- On the sign-in screen, choose “Forgot your master password?”.
- Confirm your email address with a code - and if you use an authenticator app or a YubiKey, with your second factor too.
- Enter your recovery key and set a new master password.
- Save the new recovery key the app shows you.
All your items from before the recovery stay readable.
What if you don’t have the key?
You can reset your account: your account, plan, and family or company memberships stay, but your private vault can’t be decrypted - nobody has the key to it. A family or company admin can restore your access to the group’s data after confirming your identity outside the app. Never to private vaults.
Every reset request triggers an email with the option to cancel, plus a banner on your signed-in devices - nobody can reset your account quietly.
Where to keep your recovery key
- A printout in the drawer with your important documents, or in a safe.
- A file on a USB drive or in an encrypted archive, away from the computer you use every day.
- Not in your Inlockly vault itself, and not in an email to yourself.
You can replace the key at any time in your account settings - handy if you suspect someone may have seen it.
Account protection in Inlockly. A recovery key, two-step sign-in, biometrics, and backup codes - all in one place.
The Inlockly team
We write about password and data security the same way we build our app: practical, no scare tactics, no jargon.