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Account and recovery

Emergency access

Let a trusted person read chosen vaults after a waiting period.

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With emergency access you choose a trusted person who may read selected vaults in an emergency. For example, if something happens to you and your family needs to reach insurance policies or accounts. The person gets access only after a waiting period during which you can decline.

How it works

  1. Invite: You enter the person's email address and choose a waiting period.
  2. Accept: The person accepts the invitation in their Passbox account.
  3. Confirm: You choose the vaults and confirm the person.
  4. Request: In an emergency, the person requests access. You get an email right away.
  5. Wait: During the waiting period you can decline. If you do nothing, the person gets read access when it ends.

Set it up

  1. In the web app, open Settings → Emergency access and choose Add contact.
  2. Enter the email address the person uses or will use with Passbox. They need their own account, which is free.
  3. Choose the waiting period: 1 to 30 days, 7 by default. Send the invitation.
  4. Once the person has accepted, they show Confirm now. Choose the vaults they may read in an emergency.
  5. Passbox shows the fingerprint of their key. Ideally compare it with the person by phone or in person. Then choose Confirm and share.

Vaults you create later are not included automatically. Add them if needed.

When someone requests access

You get an email with the date when access will be released. Under Settings → Emergency access you see the remaining time and have two options:

  • Decline: The person gets no access and an email. They can ask again later.
  • Allow now: The person can read the vaults right away, without waiting.

You can end access at any time, also after it was released. You get an email when the vaults are opened for the first time.

For the trusted person

Under Settings → Emergency access → People who trust you you accept invitations and, in an emergency, choose Request emergency access. Once the waiting period is over, open the vaults with Open vaults. You see the items read-only. Passbox decrypts them on your device and does not store them.

What emergency access does not do

  • It gives read access to the chosen personal vaults only. The person cannot change anything and does not take over the account.
  • Shared vaults of a family or organization are excluded. They belong to the family or organization.
  • What the person has seen once, they may remember. Ending access later does not take that back.