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Guides
Plain-language, honest answers to the questions people actually have about encrypted vaults — how recovery really works, what the cryptography does, how to move and back up your files, and what a vault can and can't protect you from. No hype, sourced where claims are factual.
RecoveryForgot your vault password? What's actually possibleThe honest answer, then exactly what to try — in order — and the one case where nothing can help.Read →
RecoveryWhat a Recovery Kit is — and why a seed phrase isn't enoughA Recovery Kit is more than a secret code. What it carries, how it differs from a bare seed phrase, and how to store it.Read →
CryptographyArgon2id vs PBKDF2, explainedWhy "memory-hard" matters, what 600,000 PBKDF2 iterations really buys you, and how to read a vault's KDF claim.Read →
How-toHow to move your private photos from iPhone to Android safelyA step-by-step for migrating sensitive photos across ecosystems without leaking them to a cloud or losing them.Read →
Security basicsZero-knowledge encryption, explained — and how it can still be recoverableWhat it means in plain language, how it differs from end-to-end and encrypted cloud, and the recoverable-vs-zero-knowledge paradox.Read →
Security basicsZero-knowledge vs hidden albums: what actually protects youHiding a photo and encrypting it are not the same thing. Where the line is, and why it matters.Read →
How-toHow to back up an encrypted vault without any cloudLocal-only means backups are your job. A practical 3-2-1 routine for an encrypted container — no cloud required.Read →
Threat modelWhat a vault app can and can't protect you fromAn honest threat model: the attacks an encrypted vault stops cold, and the ones no app can promise to stop.Read →
Built on the same honesty as these guides
Kistvault is a recoverable, zero-knowledge vault for iOS and Android — on-device, no backend. Everything these guides describe is how the app actually works.