Start with the situation you face. Each page identifies the decision, the copies and credentials involved, and the limits of what a vault can do. Detailed device instructions stay in the linked guides.
Choose your situation
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Planning family access if you cannot unlock your files: Separate immediate document access from inheritance and prepare the credentials and copies the intended recipient actually needs.
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Before handing a phone over for repair: Decide what the technician needs to access, verify a recoverable backup, and reduce unnecessary copies before the device leaves your control.
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Preparing private files before international travel: Plan which files you genuinely need on the trip and how you will recover them if the phone is unavailable; an encrypted vault does not determine border-search powers.
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When someone pressures you to unlock your phone: Prioritize your immediate safety. A vault feature cannot guarantee that another person will stop demanding access, and destructive controls can cause irreversible loss.
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Reviewing private photos after a breakup: Separate the copies and accounts you control from files another person already has, then make a safe plan for future sharing and access.
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Private files after a phone is lost or stolen: Separate account protection from file recovery: a locked vault may protect its local copy, but recovering your files depends on a surviving backup and the right credentials.
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When a child borrows your phone: Choose the one app or activity the child needs, lock private content first, and check whether notifications, recent items or cloud libraries expose more than the intended screen.
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Before selling or giving away a phone: Verify your replacement and recovery arrangements before following the device maker’s erase and account-removal process; emptying one vault is not preparation for transferring the whole device.
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Before sharing an identity-document copy: Check what the recipient actually needs, prepare the minimum appropriate copy, and review the exported file rather than assuming a vault protects it after sending.
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Private media on a shared cloud account: Identify which devices and people can reach the cloud library; moving one local copy into a vault does not automatically revoke their access to a synchronized copy.
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Moving a private archive to a new phone: Confirm backup compatibility and complete a test restore before replacing the old phone or deleting its local archive.
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When you cannot find a recovery phrase: If the vault still opens, preserve that working access and follow its documented recovery and backup options; if it does not, a purchase receipt cannot replace the missing secret.
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Showing one photo without opening the whole library: Choose a narrow handoff or share a reviewed copy, rather than relying on the recipient to stop swiping at the intended image.
When the situation involves pressure or monitoring
A phone feature is not a guarantee of personal safety. Consider the timing of changes and whether a safer device is available. Read the unlock-pressure scenario before configuring destructive controls.