What they are
Recovery keys are a twelve-word phrase generated on the phone using the BIP39 wordlist, the same scheme used for cryptocurrency wallets. They encode a random 128-bit secret. Kryptis shows them when you set them up and asks you to save them in order somewhere outside the app.
What they do
If you forget your passcode, the recovery option on the lock screen takes the twelve words and lets you set a new passcode. If you turned on the extra lock when making an encrypted backup, restoring that backup needs the words too.
What they mean
There is no password reset by email and no support ticket that can open your vault. Tuvo Labs never sees the words and cannot recover them. Lose the passcode and the words together and the vault is gone. That is the trade for a vault nobody else can open. Forgot your photo vault password? covers the options.
