Setting up a decoy vault

A decoy vault is an ordinary vault that you are willing to show. DotSafe has no special decoy mode. Any vault can be a decoy, and that is why a decoy works: no one can tell it apart from a real vault.

Make a decoy vault

1. Lock DotSafe. Tap the lock in the toolbar.
2. Draw a new pattern. Use a pattern that is different from your other patterns. DotSafe opens a new empty vault.
3. Give it a normal name. Open Settings, then This vault, and tap Name. Change the name to something ordinary, for example "Personal".
4. Add believable content. See the tips below.
5. Practise the pattern. Under stress, you must draw it with no hesitation.

Make it believable

An empty vault, or a vault with three photos from the same day, does not convince anyone. A good decoy looks like a vault that someone uses.

• Add things that people really keep private, for example screenshots of documents, receipts, a passport scan, medical letters or photos that are personal but not secret.
• Use all three tabs. Add a few files in folders and a few records, for example a Wi-Fi network and a loyalty card.
• Add things over time. Items added on many dates look more real than items added in one minute.
• Open it sometimes. Change a few items now and then.

Mistakes that give a decoy away

• Hesitation. If you stop to think before you draw, people notice. Practise.
• A pattern that is too similar to your real one. Someone who watches you draw the decoy can try small changes to it.
• Talk about other vaults. DotSafe cannot show that more vaults exist. Only you can.
• A shared decoy. Do not share a decoy vault. The members know about it, and it gives less deniability.

On Free

Free allows 3 vaults. A decoy uses one of them. If you need more vaults, Pro has no limit. On Free, a person who holds your unlocked device and tries new patterns can find out that you are at the limit. On Pro this is not possible.