Your pattern is the only key to a vault. DotSafe does not store it, so no one can reset it, and no one can recover it for you. A good pattern is hard for another person to guess and easy for you to draw from memory.
How patterns work
- You draw on a grid of 5 by 5 dots.
- A pattern has at least 4 dots.
- Each dot must be next to the one before it: across, up or down, or diagonal.
- You can use each dot one time only.
DotSafe turns the pattern into an encryption key with 600,000 rounds of PBKDF2. This makes each guess slow. But a short or common pattern needs few guesses, so the length and shape of your pattern matter.
Use more dots
Every dot that you add multiplies the number of possible patterns. Use at least 6 dots. For a vault that holds your most private things, use 8 or more.
Avoid shapes that people guess first
People who try to guess a pattern start with the shapes that most people choose. Do not use these:
- A straight line, or a line along the edge of the grid.
- A letter, especially your initial. L, Z, C, M and N are common.
- A square, a box or a zigzag with a regular rhythm.
- A pattern that starts in the top-left corner. Many people start there.
- A pattern that you use for another app or device.
Make it hard to follow
- Change direction often. Turns are harder to remember for someone who sees only part of the pattern.
- Use the middle of the grid. Patterns that stay near the edges are easier to guess.
- Turn off Show pattern trail. In Settings, under Privacy, turn off Show pattern trail. The grid then shows no dots or lines while you draw.
- Draw where no one can watch. A person who sees your screen while you draw can learn the pattern quickly.
Make sure that you remember it
A strong pattern is useless if you forget it. When you make a new vault, close DotSafe and open the vault again a few times on the first day. Draw it again the next day. If you cannot remember the shape, choose a simpler one now, before you add anything important.
A forgotten pattern cannot be recovered. If you draw a different pattern, DotSafe opens a different vault, often a new empty one. It does not say that the pattern is wrong. Your items are still in the vault for the old pattern, but only that pattern opens it.
Patterns for a decoy vault and the duress pattern
If you use a decoy vault, give it a pattern that you can draw naturally in front of someone. It does not need to be as strong as the pattern for your real vault.
Make your duress pattern very different from your other patterns. A duress pattern erases every vault on the device. Do not let it start with the same dots as a vault that you open every day.
