Setting up your Vault key and recovery code
Your Vault key unlocks your responses; your recovery code is its backup. Two minutes now, total safety later.
Last updated July 7, 2026
Your password signs you in. Your Vault key is a second, separate passphrase that unlocks your encrypted responses — it never leaves your browser, and we never see it. That's exactly why nobody but you can read your data.
Steps
- After your first sign-in, you're asked to choose a Vault key (at least 10 characters). Pick a phrase you can remember but nobody could guess — a short sentence works well.
- You're then shown your recovery code — a long code in groups of five characters. It's displayed once.
- Store the recovery code somewhere safe outside your browser: a password manager, or printed in a folder. Treat it like a spare key to your office.
Warning
We cannot reset your Vault key or resend the recovery code — we don't have them. That's not a support gap; it's the proof your data is truly private. With your recovery code, a forgotten Vault key costs you nothing (see article 8.3).
Tip
On your own computer you can let Schweizerform remember the Vault key (stored encrypted, never as plain text). It re-locks automatically after inactivity — you choose how quickly in Settings → Vault.