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Backup Key Drives

Pro tier users can create backup Key Drives — additional USB drives that contain copies of your encryption key. Each backup is fully functional: it can encrypt, decrypt, create vaults, and do everything your primary Key Drive can. This page explains how to create and manage backups.

Why Create Backups?

Your Key Drive is the only thing that can decrypt your files. If it's lost, stolen, or damaged, your encrypted data becomes permanently inaccessible.

Backup Key Drives protect against:

Risk Protection
Key Drive failure USB drives can wear out — backups provide redundancy
Loss or theft A backup stored separately means you still have access
Travel Keep a backup at home while carrying another
Safe deposit Store a backup in a bank safe for disaster recovery

Danger

If you lose all copies of your Key Drive (primary and all backups), your encrypted data is permanently lost. Create at least one backup and store it in a separate physical location.

Limits

Rule Value
Maximum active Key Drives per account 5 (including the primary)
Minimum active Key Drives per account 1 (cannot deactivate the last one)

Creating a Backup

The backup wizard works with a single USB port — no hub needed.

Backup Key Drive wizard

  1. Insert your primary Key Drive — the wizard reads the key material
  2. Remove the primary — unplug it when prompted
  3. Insert a blank USB drive — optionally give it a label (e.g., "Office safe", "Bank vault")
  4. Click Create Backup — the key is written to the new drive and registered with your account

That's it. The backup Key Drive is ready to use immediately.

Tip

The key material is held in memory only during the wizard and cleared when it completes. It's never written to your computer's disk.

Using a Backup Key Drive

A backup Key Drive works exactly like your primary. Just plug it in and use the app normally. All your vaults and encrypted files are accessible because all your Key Drives share the same encryption key.

When you use a different Key Drive, the app reads the vault configuration that was copied during backup creation. Your vault list appears seamlessly.

Managing Key Drives

You can view and manage your Key Drives from:

  • Website: Account settings → "Your Key Drives" panel
  • Desktop app: Settings → Account panel

Key Drives list in Settings

Each Key Drive shows its label, status (Active/Deactivated), registration date, and last verification date.

Renaming a Key Drive

Click Rename to update a Key Drive's label. This is cosmetic — it doesn't affect the Key Drive's function.

Deactivating a Key Drive

If a Key Drive is lost, stolen, or no longer needed:

  1. Open your Key Drive list (website or app)
  2. Click Deactivate next to the Key Drive
  3. Confirm in the warning dialog

Warning

Deactivation is immediate and takes effect on the next app launch using that Key Drive. You cannot deactivate your last active Key Drive.

Deleting a Deactivated Key Drive

After deactivation, the entry remains visible for your records. You can delete deactivated entries to clean up the list.

Further Reading