Graphophone can't read your journal — not the app's developer, not the server (there is no server), not anyone who isn't already on your device with your passphrase. That's the whole point. It also means that if you forget the passphrase, only one thing can get you back in: the recovery code.
What it is
A 256-bit recovery code, shown as 64 lowercase hex characters in sixteen dash-separated groups of four. The app shows it to you exactly once, immediately after you create the vault. Under the hood, the master key is wrapped under both the passphrase and the recovery code, so either can unlock the vault.
- Strength
- 256-bit
- Shown as
- 64 hex characters, 16 groups of 4
- Shown
- Exactly once
Where to store it
- A piece of paper in a sealed envelope, somewhere only you go (a fireproof box, a safety deposit drawer, the back of your passport sleeve). This is the gold-standard recommendation.
- A password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, KeePassXC). Use a custom field labeled "Graphophone recovery code".
- Print it onto two slips and give one to someone you trust. Legacy Mode (post-v1) does this with cryptographic splitting; for now a manual split works fine.
Where NOT to store it
- An email draft to yourself.
- A note in the same cloud account you use for the device.
- A photo in your camera roll.
- Any chat app.
One thing to know if you use the Copy button: because the recovery code is your vault's master secret, Graphophone wipes it from the clipboard after about 90 seconds rather than letting it linger where other apps could read it. So paste it into your password manager (or wherever it's going) right away — and the app tells you it does this when you copy.
If you lose it
As long as you still know your passphrase, you can rotate the code: Settings → Vault → Show recovery code. Confirm your passphrase; a fresh code is shown once and the old one stops working. Anyone who saw the old one is now locked out.
If you lose BOTH
The journal cannot be recovered. We say this in onboarding too, but it's worth saying twice. The cryptography that protects your entries from anyone else also protects them from us.