This FAQ offers short answers to popular questions. Detailed answers and additional support are also available here.
Valt is a new approach to password management—one that is visual and fun—that gives you the freedom to surf without worry or distraction. Instead of remembering hundreds—shudder—of passwords for each website you visit, you can store them all within the safety of your Valt. We use NSA-approved encryption to securely lock your data behind a single truly random master password. Whenever you need your passwords, Valt automatically fills it in for you.
Your master password isn’t a sequence of characters—it’s a set of pictures. We leverage your visual memory to keep your sensitive information secure. The images you learn comprise your master password, which is used to unlock your Valt. You are much more likely to remember your images than you are to remember a traditional password. Only you know your images so only you can unlock your Valt.
Valt Premium enables backup and syncing with the Valt Cloud. With a subscription, you’ll be able to view and edit your passwords on all your devices. Should you lose your device, backing up to the Valt Cloud ensures that you can recover all your data. For $71.99 per year, (that’s less than $6 per month) we’ll keep your secrets encrypted in the cloud and available to you on an unlimited number of devices.
Look for our:
iOS app available for iPhone and iPad. Useful for keeping your passwords at your fingertips whenever you need them.
Desktop Mac app. An extra home for passwords that’s more convenient when you’re on the computer.
Web browser extensions for Google Chrome and Safari (installed automatically with the Mac app). When combined with the Mac app, automatically collects, updates, and autofills your passwords as you browse. Support for Android and other browsers is under development in our secret underground lab. Email our feedback address if you want a notification when we’re finished.
Download and launch the Valt app on your iPhone, iPad or desktop Mac.
Create a personalized grid or use a grid curated by Valt. Write down your recovery code.
Unlock your Valt by selecting your images. If you have any trouble we’ll help you by highlighting the images and retesting you until you’re ready to unlock your Valt on your own.
Create new individual password entries by adding a title, username and password or download the Mac app and import your Chrome passwords or let us populate your Valt as you browse! That’s it! When you return to your Valt later, simply select your images to unlock your Valt. All your passwords are now at your fingertips.
Unlock your Valt and click the gear icon at the upper-right to open settings. Enable the option for Backup and Syncing; you’ll need to subscribe to Valt Premium for this service. When prompted write down your Valt secret. It will help you recover your account if you lose your phone.
Not yet. We’re hard at work putting this feature together. If you’d like to be notified when it’s ready, you can sign up for our newsletter and we’ll be in touch! In the interim, note that you can copy and/or view the passwords from your existing keychains. Here’s some hints for iCloud Keychain and for Google Smart Lock.
Yes! Each time you change a password in the browser, Valt will suggest a new, unique and secure password to use on that site. Whether you choose to use the suggested password or create one of your own, Valt will automatically update your entry with the new password.
There are two common culprits: the Internet connection and your email address. Make sure that both devices are connected to the Internet; they can be on different networks. Also, double check that you entered your email correctly—and that it’s the same email you use with your existing Valt Premium account. If you’re unsure what address you used, you can open Valt’s settings on your existing device to check. If you’re still stuck, email [email protected] and we’ll help you out.
Check that the browser extension is installed and currently enabled. If you’re still stuck, email [email protected] and we’ll help you out.
Presently, iPhones don’t autofill your Valt passwords, but you can always touch any password in your Valt to reveal a copy password button. The good news is that Apple plans to release an API for this feature in the coming year. Stay tuned!
Check that our browser extension is installed and currently enabled. Also, the Mac application must be open with your Valt unlocked. If you wish to autosave passwords while the app is closed, open the app, and click the gear icon to access Valt settings. Near the bottom, check the box next to “Allow Valt to run in the background.” If you’re still stuck, email [email protected] and we’ll help you out.
Presently, iPhones don’t autosave your passwords, but you can always unlock your Valt and create a new entry yourself. If you choose Generate Password, we’ll suggest a strong password for you so you can copy-paste back into your iPhone browser/application.
Forgetting your images is extremely unlikely, bit it is possible if you don’t use the app for a very long period of time. When you first configure your Valt, be certain to write down your recovery code and stow it some place safe. Should calamity strike, open your Valt, click the first aid kit icon in the lower left, enter your recovery code, and we’ll remind you of your images so you can unlock your Valt again. We recommend you turn on Valt notifications so we can remind you to refresh your memory every once in a while.
Plan A: If you’re able to restore your data on a new device using an existing iTunes or iCloud backup, you should be able to access your Valt as you normally would without a hitch. Plan B: If your Valt is synced with another device, you can authenticate your new device and recover your Valt. Plan C: If you’ve enabled Backup and Syncing, then you can always use your Valt secret to securely retrieve your data from the Valt Cloud. If you haven’t already, we recommend that you write down your Valt secret with invisible ink and hide it in your sock drawer.
Right now every Valt is locked using 4 images on a single grid of 15 images. If you joined Valt before February 2019 and have a Valt that uses 9 images on 3 grids you can transition to a single, personal grid with a 4 image Picture Pin by selecting “Create my personalized grid” in Settings on your mobile device.
Yes, you can! In fact, there are [decades of academic research][recognition-memory] that say you can easily recall hundreds of images, even without seeing them for a month.
No. Even if someone has your device, they would have to correctly select all your images to display your passwords. Selecting your images without knowing them ahead of time is equivalent to you setting a random string of characters as your password and having someone guess that password correctly.
Unfortunately, not yet. The trouble is that you’re much more likely to struggle with remembering your images if you have to relearn different images from the same set. In the future, we’re planning to add additional images sets to mitigate this issue. If the situation is critical right here and now, you can always create a new Valt, but you’ll have to enter your passwords again; your subscription will transfer to your new Valt if you use the same email address.
No. Your master password isn’t stored on a server; it’s in your memory as a series of images. A hacker would have to ask you which images are included in your image set to gain access to your Valt. It’s truly that simple.
We use the following open source libraries with corresponding licenses in Valt.
All the licenses below are used in the browser extension, which coordinates with the Company’s Mac application. NPM is a framework that relies on many third party tools, so there are many dependencies in this project. Below is a summary of the licenses used by all the third party software included in the NPM package manager:
We want to make the transition to another tool as smooth as possible and have built an export tool that can help you download your existing data. Once you have exported your passwords from Valt, follow the instructions for password importing provided by your new password manager.
Security is our top priority and the Mac and iOS updates ensure that you can retrieve your data securely. For maximum security we recommend keeping the digital export of your passwords around for as short a time as possible before either transitioning to another password manager or printing the file for physical storage.
On iOS we encourage you to select a secure method of transfer to a desktop computer. The best options for this are iCloud, Dropbox and Airdrop. Emailing the file to yourself, while very convenient, is the least secure option.
There are a couple key dates we’d like you to be aware of:
Once you have the latest Valt app:
We’re here to help you through the transition, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any questions
No, we’ll be deleting your encrypted password data on all of our servers
Tell us about it by sending an email to [email protected]. Valt is still in its early stages, and all the feedback we receive will help us to improve it.
Send an email to [email protected], and someone on the Valt team will help you get your question answered.
Subscribe to our newsletter, and we’ll be in touch!
Give us your rating on the App Store! Follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook. You can also email us your suggestions directly at [email protected]. The team thrives on your feedback, and every little bit helps.