One pattern, one vault: how Vaultopaz unlocks
Draw a pattern and the vault that belongs to it opens. A different pattern opens a different vault. The unlock screen never shows which vaults exist.
What is one pattern, one vault?
Most vault apps have one lock and one place behind it. Vaultopaz works differently: the pattern you draw is the key to one specific vault. Draw another pattern and you reach another vault, with its own photos, files and notes.
How it works
The unlock screen is a 5 by 5 grid and looks the same for everyone. When you draw a pattern, the app tries to open the vault that belongs to it. If there is one, it opens. If there is none, you get the same quiet refusal as when you mistype, so the screen does not reveal whether a vault was found.
A pattern needs at least six dots and a change of direction. Wrong patterns in a row make you wait longer each time, up to 30 seconds. A correct pattern or fifteen quiet minutes reset the count. The real protection is a longer pattern.
Name, new pattern or delete
In an open vault you can give that vault a name. The name is kept encrypted in the vault’s own index and shows at the top while the vault is open. You can also give the vault a new pattern; its nine recovery words stay the same, so the words you wrote down keep working. And you can delete the vault from the phone for good, after you tick a confirmation.
To make another vault, tap New vault on the unlock screen or start one from inside an open vault. The unlock screen still lists none of your vaults.
When to use separate vaults
- Keep work documents apart from private photos.
- Give a shared family tablet a vault for everyone, each with its own pattern.
- Keep the things you rarely need in a vault you do not open every day.
Good to know: the limits
- Only wrong patterns in a row wait, longer each time up to 30 seconds; a correct pattern or fifteen quiet minutes reset the count. Someone who knows one pattern, a decoy included, can reset the wait that way, so the wait only slows a person who knows no pattern; a longer pattern is the real protection. After a phone restart the quiet time cannot be proven, so the last count carries into the next attempt once.
- Hidden vaults still occupy storage; size and, beyond padding, count are not invisible to someone inspecting the device.
- Losing both the pattern and the recovery phrase means the files are gone. There is no account and no reset.
- Unlock is by pattern only, on purpose. A pattern is knowledge you can keep to yourself, and a quick fingerprint or face unlock would give away that a vault exists.
- Deleting removes the encrypted copy from the vault and frees the space. It does not scrub the flash memory of the phone.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make another vault?
Each distinct pattern on the 5 by 5 grid can open its own vault. Tap New vault on the unlock screen, or start one from inside an open vault, then draw a new pattern and confirm it.
What makes a valid pattern?
At least six dots with at least one change of direction. Short or straight lines are refused, because they are too easy to guess.
Why do I sometimes have to wait before unlocking?
Only wrong patterns in a row make you wait, a little longer each time and at most 30 seconds. A correct pattern or fifteen quiet minutes reset the count, so moving between your own vaults never waits.
Can I change the pattern of a vault?
Yes. In the open vault you can draw a new pattern for it. The vault keeps its nine recovery words, so the words you wrote down still work.