Your recovery code is a 48-character backup key, shown once when you created your vault — it looks like XAZE3TBV-K2GQ7TYJ-4PZWVE2N-… It exists for exactly one moment: the day you can’t remember your vault password.
What it can do
With your recovery code you can unlock your vault and set a new vault password, with no data loss. Without it, a forgotten vault password means your data stays encrypted forever — we cannot reset it.
Where to keep it
- On paper, not in a file. Print the recovery kit or write it down. A code that lives only on the device you lose doesn’t help you.
- Somewhere that survives a bad day: a fireproof box, a safe deposit box, or with your estate documents at your attorney’s office.
- Labeled so it’s recognizable — something like “NestVault recovery code — unlocks our family vault at mynestvault.com.” A code nobody can find, or nobody recognizes, doesn’t help anyone.
Good to know
- Dashes and letter case don’t matter when you type it in.
- You can generate a new code any time from Account Settings → Vault Security. The old code stops working the moment the new one is created — destroy old printed copies so they don’t get mistaken for the real one later.
- Changing your vault password does not change your recovery code — it stays valid.