> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redacted.money/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.redacted.money/using-redacted/backup-and-recovery.md).

# Backup and Recovery

With one encrypted file and one passphrase, you can restore your private account after losing your laptop, your phone or even your wallet. You restore from any supported wallet, anywhere, and everything is where you left it.

## Save a backup

While you are unlocked, open the account menu and choose **Back up account**.

1. Set a passphrase of at least 14 characters, or let the app generate a strong one for you.
2. Store the passphrase in your password manager, separately from the file.
3. Save the encrypted backup file wherever you keep important things. On phones, the system share menu takes it straight to Files or your storage of choice.

Do it once, right after your first sign-in. It takes two minutes, and the app reminds you until you have.

## Restore anywhere

Connect any supported wallet, choose **Restore backup**, select your file and enter the passphrase. Your private identity, Reserve notes, Spending balance and positions are all rebuilt from the chain, because that is where they always lived, so there is nothing to migrate or re-fund and nothing is lost.

The wallet you restore with doesn't have to be the original one, because the account belongs to your keys and not to a wallet vendor or device.

## Withdraw after restoring

Once restored, you can immediately withdraw Reserve assets to a public wallet you control, without ever touching the original wallet again. Open positions (loans, stakes, orders) remain live and follow their products' normal rules until you close them.

## Good to know

* The passphrase is the lock. Anyone holding both the file and the passphrase can restore the account, so store them separately and share neither.
* If you forget the passphrase while you can still sign in, export a fresh backup with a new one.
* Your address is not the key. A public address proves nothing on its own, so restoring takes your backup or your wallet's signature.

## Under the hood

Backups encrypt your account's root key in the browser with AES-256-GCM, using PBKDF2-SHA256 at 600,000 iterations with a random salt. Generated passphrases use cryptographically secure randomness. Restoration then replays public chain history through your keys, which is the same no-database principle that runs the whole protocol.

See [Sessions](/using-redacted/sessions.md) for everyday unlocking and [Security](/protocol/security.md) for the wider model.