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Backing Up and Restoring Secrets

Isn't SecretShield the secret backup/recovery, why does it tell me to also store it somewhere else?​

While we believe SecretShield to be highly secure, we cannot predict what may happen in the future. For example, SecretShield stores the data on mobile devices - an EMP could come along an cause those devices to lose all there data resulting in the secret no longer being recoverable. Alternately, too many of your Guardians may decided to update their phones in a short period of time, resulting in not being able to meet the threshold for recovery.

For this reason, we always suggest having an additional copy of your secret on another medium such offline on paper or engraved in metal and stored securely. In most cases, SecretShield will work and be available for you in a timely fashion.

Backup​

If you don’t backup your app, all of your data can be lost if your device is destroyed or stolen and wiped. The backup function will export your configuration of Secrets, Guardians, Trustees, and related data. It does not contain your Secrets, but does contain everything needed to request a Recovery from your Guardians, including your Contacts.

Why is a Backup so important?​

SecretShield only stores your data on your device without a backup. This means, if your phone gets run over by a car, you cannot recover SecretShield by downloading the app on a new device. You must recover your backup in order to restore the configuration of your secrets, guardians and trustees.

Where is my backup stored?​

On iOS, it's a file in an application-specific iCloud folder.

On Android, the file is marked for application automatic backup/restore. Also, on Android, the user can tap on the file and export it to GDrive, Dropbox, etc.

Restore​

What does Restore do?​

Restore will bring back your Contacts and Secret configurations. You will need to initiate a Recovery to obtain the original Secrets stored. Your contacts may need to re-accept an automated request to connect.

What do I do with my backup?​

iOS, iPhone, iPad backups are stored in your iCloud account. This will automatically make them available on a new i-device when that device signs into iCloud.

Android backups are configured to be available for restore when upgrading; however, the reliability has been less than perfect. After making a backup on Android, you can tap on the backup and share it to a cloud drive app like gDrive, Dropbox, or similar. On a new Android device, you can share the backup file to the SecretShield app which will take you through restoring the backup.

Can I restore a backup made on iOS to Android or vise-versa?​

At this time, it is not possible. An iOS (iPhone or iPad) can only be restored to another iOS device. Likewise, an Android backup can only be restored to an Android device. Note, the file extension for iOS and Android are different.