Duress PIN · Premium
Forced to unlock? Open the decoy.
A duress PIN opens a decoy and removes other vaults from this iPhone. Restore completed iCloud backups later with each vault’s recovery phrase. The design aims not to reveal it: the duress setting is stored encrypted with no plaintext marker, and a duress unlock behaves like an ordinary unlock. Someone who expects particular files may still notice their absence; it is not a guarantee against suspicion.
Premium
What is a duress PIN in a vault app?
A duress PIN opens a decoy and removes other vaults from this iPhone. Restore completed iCloud backups later with each vault’s recovery phrase. The design aims not to reveal it: the duress setting is stored encrypted with no plaintext marker, and a duress unlock behaves like an ordinary unlock. Someone who expects particular files may still notice their absence; it is not a guarantee against suspicion.
At a glance
- The duress PIN is the PIN of a decoy vault you stock in advance
- Entering it removes your other vaults from this iPhone and stops sync on it
- Previously backed-up data remains in your encrypted iCloud backup
- No plaintext marker; stored encrypted
Set it up before you need it.
- 1
Turn on iCloud backup
Turn backup on and let it finish before relying on it: only data already backed up can be restored after the device is cleared. The app also lets you enable duress without iCloud backup after explicitly accepting permanent data loss. Do not treat that confirmation as a backup.
- 2
Create a decoy vault
Pick a new PIN and fill that vault with ordinary, harmless content: enough that it looks lived-in.
- 3
Make it your duress vault
In the decoy vault’s settings, choose “Make this my duress vault” and confirm the warning. Its PIN is now your duress PIN.
- 4
Write down your recovery phrases
Each real vault comes back only with its own 12-word phrase. Check you have every one before you rely on duress.
What happens when the duress PIN is entered
A duress PIN opens a decoy and removes other vaults from this iPhone. Restore completed iCloud backups later with each vault’s recovery phrase.
The design aims not to reveal it: the duress setting is stored encrypted with no plaintext marker, and a duress unlock behaves like an ordinary unlock. Someone who expects particular files may still notice their absence; it is not a guarantee against suspicion.
Getting your vaults back
Previously backed-up vaults remain in your iCloud backup as encrypted blocks. When you are safe, install Sealby on a fresh device (or reinstall it) and restore each vault with its own 12-word recovery phrase. Unbacked-up changes cannot be restored. The cleared device does not sync again on its own, so it cannot pass the removal on to your backup.
Duress PIN or Destroy all data?
Destroy all data is the overt wipe: you choose it, confirm it, and the app returns to its first-run state. The duress PIN is its quiet counterpart. It looks and feels like an ordinary unlock and only acts once the decoy is open.
A duress PIN versus a typical decoy password
What a duress PIN cannot do
It cannot bring back data that was never backed up. Setup warns about permanent loss when iCloud backup is off, but acknowledging that warning still lets you enable duress. It does not help if someone has already watched you type a real PIN. And it is a tool for your safety, not legal advice: know the rules that apply to searches where you are.
Common questions
Is my data really gone after a duress unlock?
It is gone from that device. Data backed up beforehand remains in your iCloud as encrypted blocks. Restore each backed-up vault with its own recovery phrase on a fresh install; unbacked-up changes cannot be recovered.
Can someone tell I have a duress PIN?
The design aims not to reveal it: the duress setting is stored encrypted with no plaintext marker, and a duress unlock behaves like an ordinary unlock. Someone who expects particular files may still notice their absence; it is not a guarantee against suspicion.
Is the duress PIN free?
Duress mode and encrypted iCloud backup are Premium features. Hidden vaults, with a different PIN for each vault, are free. Backup is strongly recommended before using duress so you have something to restore.
What if I enter the duress PIN by accident?
Your other vaults are removed from the device, as designed. If their backups completed beforehand, restore the backed-up data with each vault’s recovery phrase. Unbacked-up changes are lost. Choose a duress PIN you will not type by habit.
Related: How hidden vaults work · Recovery phrase · Encrypted iCloud backup & sync · Travel and border crossings
Your vault is waiting.
Download Sealby and protect what matters. Setup takes under a minute, and there’s no account to create.
iPhone & iPad · iOS 17+ · Free