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Legacy ​

Life is unpredictable. Legacy helps someone you trust recover your Ente account if you lose access, are incapacitated, or are no longer around.

There are two Legacy options in Ente Locker:

  • Trusted contacts: Choose another Ente user who can recover your account after a waiting period.
  • Legacy Kits: Create 3 physical recovery sheets. Any 2 sheets can start account recovery in a browser, and the helper does not need an Ente account.

Both options are account-level recovery tools. They are not item sharing, collection sharing, or direct login.

Trusted contacts ​

Trusted contacts are Ente users who agree to help recover your account. If a trusted contact starts recovery, you are notified and can block the attempt during the waiting period.

How trusted contact recovery works ​

  1. Add one or more trusted contacts.
  2. The trusted contact accepts the invite.
  3. If needed, the trusted contact starts account recovery.
  4. Ente notifies you during the waiting period.
  5. If you do not block the attempt, the trusted contact can reset the account password through the recovery flow.

Waiting period options ​

Choose how long trusted contact recovery must wait:

  • 7 days
  • 14 days
  • 30 days (default)

Choose a shorter period if you want faster recovery, or keep the default 30 days for stronger protection against unauthorized recovery attempts.

Add a trusted contact ​

On mobile:

  1. Open Ente Locker.
  2. Open the Locker menu.
  3. Tap Legacy.
  4. Tap Add Trusted Contact.
  5. Enter the email address of the person you want to add.

The contact must already have an Ente account. After you add them, they must accept the invite from the Legacy page in their Ente app.

Manage trusted contacts ​

Your Legacy page shows:

  • Trusted contacts: People who can recover your account.
  • Legacy accounts: Accounts where you are a trusted contact.

To remove a trusted contact, open Legacy, tap the contact, and select Remove.

Legacy Kits ​

Legacy Kits are physical recovery kits for your Ente account. Each kit creates 3 recovery sheets, and any 2 sheets can start recovery. One sheet alone is not enough.

Legacy Kit sheets do not contain your recovery key. They reconstruct a separate kit secret that opens a scoped recovery session. The recovery key is decrypted locally only after enough sheets are combined and the waiting period allows recovery.

Learn more about Legacy Kits.

Blocking recovery ​

If someone starts recovery without your permission:

On mobile:

  1. Open Ente Locker.
  2. Open the Locker menu.
  3. Tap Legacy.
  4. Open the recovery warning.
  5. Block the recovery attempt.

Blocking a trusted contact recovery stops that recovery attempt. For Legacy Kits, blocking stops the current active attempt, but the kit can still be used to start another attempt later unless you delete the kit.

Important considerations ​

  • Legacy applies to your Ente account: A completed recovery gives access to the recovered Ente account.
  • Trusted contacts must be Ente users: Legacy Kits do not require the helper to have an Ente account.
  • Recovery can be blocked: You are notified when recovery starts and can block unauthorized attempts during the waiting period.
  • This is not sharing: Use sharing features for day-to-day access to Locker items or collections.

Use cases ​

  • Digital inheritance: Help family members recover your account after death.
  • Emergency account recovery: Recover access if you lose your password and recovery key.
  • Incapacity planning: Make sure important information is recoverable if you cannot respond.
  • Business continuity: Keep critical account access recoverable when needed.