Panic wipe

Android panic wipe removes the Keystore key required for future local vault access. iOS provides a separate duress action that removes references to non-keeper vaults. Neither action claims to erase exported backups, system snapshots, or every previously written physical storage cell.

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The feature

Why it matters

Understand Android panic wipe, its destructive local boundary, and how it differs from the separate iOS duress action.

Invalidate access, not physical history

Panic wipe targets the Android Keystore material required to regain local vault access. Once that key is removed, the local encrypted state can no longer be opened through the ordinary access path.

This is cryptographic invalidation, not a claim that flash storage has been physically scrubbed. Wear leveling, snapshots, and controller-managed copies remain outside what an app can reliably erase.

Backups remain separate

Portable encrypted backups are exported copies with their own recovery phrase. Panic wipe does not seek out or delete those files from local folders, document providers, synchronized storage, or another device.

Treat the action as destructive to future local access and understand your backup state before relying on it.

Platform details

How support differs

iOS

IOS

Panic wipe is not advertised on iOS

Not announced

Panic wipe is not advertised on iPhone. The separate duress configuration provides destructive local removal of non-keeper vault references.

A committed local transaction removes references to non-keeper vaults from the active local store.
Does not delete exported encrypted backups or copies already shared with a recipient.
Remote cleanup is best-effort and does not promise erasure of every physical storage copy.

ANDROID

Available on Android

Available now

Panic wipe is available on Android.

Removes the Android Keystore key required for future local vault access.
Does not delete exported encrypted backup files or Android system snapshots.
Does not promise erasure of data already written to physical storage cells.

Documentation basis

Documented claims

Android panic wipe removes the Keystore key needed for future local access without claiming physical erasure of every copy.
iOS includes forward-only destructive duress behavior that removes references to non-keeper vaults in one committed local transaction.

Know the boundary

Important limitations

Panic wipe is destructive to future local access and may cause permanent loss without a valid recovery path.
It does not erase exported backups, system snapshots, or every physical storage copy.
An attacker who already captured plaintext or usable key material may fall outside the action's protection.

Clear answers

Questions about this feature

Does panic wipe erase every local storage cell?

No. It removes required Android Keystore material and invalidates future local access without promising physical flash erasure.

Does panic wipe delete exported backups?

No. Exported encrypted backup files are separate copies and remain wherever they were saved.

Is panic wipe available on iOS?

No. Panic wipe is an Android-only capability. NullVault is available on iOS, but its current iPhone feature set does not advertise panic wipe.