Zero-knowledge encryption means we genuinely cannot reset your password if you lose it. Recovery is the way back in — but it’s designed so that no single person (including us) can unlock your vault on their own.
How it works (Shamir secret sharing)
At recovery setup, your vault key is split into cryptographic shares — one for each trusted contact you nominate. You decide how many contacts there are and how many of them must approve to put the key back together (the threshold). A common choice is three contacts, any two of whom can approve: no single contact can act on their own, and you’re still covered if one of them is unreachable. Anything below your threshold is useless — the shares reveal nothing on their own.
Your trusted contacts don’t need an Inktally account. They get an email with a one-click approval button. They never see your data; they only see a request to authorize your recovery.
Choosing contacts
Pick people who:
- Are likely to outlive a hospital stay you might take.
- You’d trust to follow your wishes, not to override them.
- Probably won’t lose access to their own email for years.
- Don’t all live in the same place. Geographic spread matters.
Common picks: a sibling, a long-time friend, and your lawyer or accountant. Spouse + sibling + sibling is also fine. Three startup co-founders is risky — same plane crash.
Triggering recovery
If you lose your password, go to the sign-in page and click "Recover account". You enter your email; we email each of your trusted contacts asking them to approve. As soon as your threshold is met — two of the three, in the example above — we email you a one-time recovery link.
The recovery link lets you set a new password and re-derive your vault key. It’s valid for 72 hours and single-use.
What contacts can and can’t do
Contacts can only approve a recovery request that you initiate by entering your email on the sign-in page. They cannot:
- See any of your vault contents.
- Trigger a recovery on your behalf without you asking.
- Stop you from removing them as a contact at any time.
We send you an email any time a recovery is initiated, even if you didn’t start it — so a malicious contact attempting an unauthorized recovery is loud and detectable.
Updating contacts
Settings → Security → Recovery lets you add, remove, or swap contacts at any time. We recommend an annual review: at least once a year, glance at the list and confirm everyone is still the right pick.