Encrypted Vault protects your files with a passphrase only you know. These practical steps help you keep it that way and avoid losing access to your own files.
Choose a strong passphrase, once
Your vault passphrase is the single key to every encrypted file you store, and it can't be changed after you set it. Use something long and unique: four or more random words, or 16+ characters generated by a password manager. When you set it, Suggest a strong passphrase can make one for you. Never reuse a password from anywhere else, including your portal password.
Store your passphrase safely
Keep it in a password manager such as Bitwarden, 1Password or KeePass. If you forget it, your encrypted files are lost for good. We can't reset or recover it.
Lock the vault when you're done
After you unlock it, the vault stays unlocked in that browser tab until you click Lock or close the tab. On a shared or public computer, click Lock as soon as you've finished, and don't use the vault on a device you don't trust.
Protect your portal account
Anyone who can sign in to your portal account can see your folder names and the names of any files that aren't encrypted, delete files, create share links and change your dead man's switch and geo rules, even without your vault passphrase. Use a strong portal password and turn on two-factor authentication. See How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
Keep private files encrypted
Only untick Encrypt files I upload (recommended) for files you'd be happy for others to see, such as a video you want to stream or share widely. Unencrypted files, and their names, aren't protected by your passphrase. See Uploading and Downloading Files.
Keep folder names neutral
The names of encrypted files are encrypted, but folder names, file types and sizes aren't. Avoid putting anything sensitive in a folder name. Files uploaded from a PremierVPN app, and a few very old files, keep a readable name until you rename them in the vault, so rename any that give something away. See What Vault Encrypts.
Share carefully
- Add a password, choose the shortest expiry and the lowest download limit that will work. Every link expires within 30 days at most.
- Click Stop sharing once the recipient has the file, rather than waiting for the link to expire.
- Send the link and the vault passphrase by different methods, never in the same message.
- Remember your passphrase opens every encrypted file in your vault. If you don't want to hand it over, encrypt the file with its own password before uploading.
Wrong share passwords are limited, so a link with a strong password can't simply be guessed. See Secure File Sharing.
Consider the dead man's switch
If you hold files that must be destroyed, or passed on, if something happens to you, turn on the dead man's switch with a period you won't miss by accident, such as 30 to 90 days. We email you a warning when 7 days or fewer are left. See Dead Man's Switch.
Use geo rules with care
Geo-destruction rules check the country of the IP address you connect from. When you're on a VPN, that's the VPN server's country. Include the countries of any VPN servers you use, prefer Lock access, keep my files over Destroy everything permanently, and update your list before you travel. The vault won't save rules that would block the country you're connecting from, and the Vault security page always opens wherever you are, so you can change the rules if you're locked out. See Geo-Destruction Rules.
Keep a copy of anything you can't afford to lose
Deletion in the vault is permanent, and the dead man's switch and geo rules can delete everything. Keep an offline backup of irreplaceable files.