Passphrases

TypVault uses a passphrase in two different places, and they do not work the same way.

The two situations

If you send a tip, a passphrase is your choice. Your tip code alone lets you check status and see any reward. A passphrase adds messaging and reward collection on top of that.

If you save a draft instead of sending, a passphrase is required. Nobody can open an unsent draft without it. There is no way to skip this step.

A passphrase on a tip you send

This one is optional. You can send a tip with nothing but your written report, and your tip code will always show its status.

Set a passphrase only if you want to:

1. Send and receive messages with your program about the tip.
2. Collect a cash reward, if one is offered and approved.

You do not have to decide when you send the tip. You can add a passphrase later: open your tip with your code, then set one. Once a passphrase is set, it cannot be removed. It can be changed, but you will need the current one to do that.

A passphrase on a draft you save

This one is required. A draft is a tip you started but have not sent yet. Nobody can read it — not your program, not TypVault — until you finish and send it.

Because nobody else holds a copy, your passphrase is the only way back into a draft. Come back with your tip code and your passphrase to pick up where you left off.

A saved draft does not stay around forever. It is deleted on its own after 72 hours if you never return to finish it.

There are no complexity rules

Either passphrase can be anything you will remember.

• Any length works. One character is fine, and so is a full sentence.
• Letters, numbers, symbols, and spaces are all allowed.
• The only thing rejected is a passphrase made of nothing but spaces.

Pick something you can recall without writing it down somewhere unsafe.

Nobody can recover it

If you forget your passphrase, there is no reset. Not your program, not TypVault.

On a sent tip, your tip code still shows status. Messages and any reward stay locked until you remember it. Nobody can reset or replace a passphrase you have forgotten.

On a draft, forgetting it means the draft itself is gone. There is nothing to recover.

Related

• Your tip code
• Lost your code or passphrase?
• Returning: status and messages
• Anonymity, in full

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 directly.