Recovery Words on the Desktop
Three words unlock your data on a device that does not have your key yet. Your data is encrypted so that only you can read it. These words are the way back in. We hold no copy of them. Nobody can read your data without them, and nobody can restore them for you.
The desktop app asks for the words in one of two ways. Which one you see depends on your account.
New Account: Create the Words
Section titled “New Account: Create the Words”If this is the first device of your account, the app creates the words for you.
- Choose the language for the words, if the app asks. Your codes use the same language.
- Select Create recovery code. This can take some seconds.
- The app shows three words. Write them down now. They are shown once, and the app cannot show them again later.
- Select the box I have written these three words down.
- Select Continue.
Keep the paper in a safe place. A password manager also holds them well. Do not keep them in a screenshot, an e-mail or a note that other people can open. Select Copy only if you paste the words straight into a safe place.
If the Setup Was Interrupted
Section titled “If the Setup Was Interrupted”If the app closed before you saw the words, the next start shows Your recovery words were not shown yet. Your account is safe. Select Show my recovery words. The app creates new words. They replace any words that were shown before, so write down the new ones.
Existing Account: Enter the Words
Section titled “Existing Account: Enter the Words”If you already use Trusted Codes on another device, this computer does not have your key yet. The app shows This computer does not have your secret key yet.
- Open Trusted Codes on your phone.
- Go to Settings → Security & recovery → Recovery code. The phone shows your three words there.
- Type the three words into the three fields on the computer, one word in each field. Capital letters do not matter.
- Select Unlock this computer.
Your data opens on this computer. A codeword that already exists on another device is not copied by the words alone. The other device sends it again when both devices are online.
If You Lost the Words
Section titled “If You Lost the Words”- You are still signed in on your phone. Open Settings → Security & recovery → Recovery code and make new words. The old words stop working at that moment. Your connections and your data stay. Then write the new words down.
- You are signed out everywhere and have no words. The data cannot be restored. We hold no copy. If we held one, the encryption would be worth nothing.
- You have no phone at hand. The words are on the phone, so you need it for this step. Without the words you cannot unlock this computer. You can sign out and sign in again later, when you have the phone.