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Support

Answers to the questions people ask most, and how to reach a person when they don’t cover it.

Contact us

Email support@pearlin.app, or open App settings and tap Contact support, which adds your app and iOS version for you. A person reads every message.

Never send a pattern, recovery phrase, share phrase or private file. We never need them, and we’ll never ask.

Getting started

  1. Open Pearlin and draw a pattern: at least six dots on the 5×5 grid, with at least one turn.
  2. Draw it again to confirm, then write down the vault’s recovery phrase on paper.
  3. Add photos and videos from your library, files from Files, a note, or shoot with Pearlin’s camera.

To make another vault, lock Pearlin and draw a pattern you haven’t used. Each pattern opens its own vault, and the app never lists them.

After importing from Photos, Pearlin can offer to remove the copies left in your library. iOS asks you to confirm each time, and keeps them in Recently Deleted for a while.

I forgot a pattern

On the lock screen, tap Forgot your pattern? and enter the vault’s recovery phrase. Once you’re in, you can choose Change pattern in Vault settings; your files and recovery phrase stay as they are.

If you’ve lost both the pattern and the recovery phrase, nobody can open that vault, including us. There’s no reset and no back door. That’s what keeps it private, and it’s why every new vault reminds you until its phrase is saved.

Lost a recovery phrase but still know the pattern? Open the vault, go to Vault settings, and choose New recovery phrase. Write the new one down; the old one stops working.

Moving to a new phone, or a lost phone

New phone

Either way works, and both are free on every plan:

  • From iCloud backup: install Pearlin on the new phone, signed in to the same Apple ID, and draw the vault’s pattern (or enter its recovery phrase) to restore it.
  • As a vault file: on the old phone, export the vault as one encrypted file, move it by AirDrop, cable or USB drive, then import it on the new phone and open it with the same pattern.

Lost or broken phone

If iCloud backup was on, restore the vault on your new phone as above. If it wasn’t, and you didn’t export a vault file, the vault was only on that phone and can’t be brought back. If you’re worried someone has the phone, remember they still need a pattern to open anything.

Step by step, with a checklist: Move a vault to a new phone.

iCloud backup and sync

  • Backup is included on every plan. Turn it on per vault under Vault settings, then Backup. It uses your iCloud storage.
  • Sync keeps a vault the same on your iPhone and iPad, and is part of Pro.
  • Everything is encrypted on your device first. Apple stores it but can’t read it, and neither can we.
  • If backup seems stuck, check that you’re signed in to iCloud, have iCloud storage free, and are connected to the internet, then open the vault so it can finish.

Sharing

Sending

With Pro, open the vault, go to Vault settings, and choose Share this vault. Pick when it expires, how many times it can open, and whether files can be saved, then send the share phrase or the link. A share can be up to 2 GB.

Changed your mind? Take a share back under Shares you’ve sent. Shares nobody has saved are deleted right away.

Receiving

Opening a share is free. On the lock screen, choose Open a shared vault (inside a vault, Join a share) and type the phrase, or tap the link. Each share can be saved once; after that it’s gone from the server.

A duress vault can’t be shared, and a vault with shares out can’t become the duress vault.

Settings to choose and habits to keep: Share private photos safely.

Pro, billing and refunds

  • Cancel a subscription: App settings, then Plan, then Manage subscription, or iOS Settings under your name, then Subscriptions. Cancel at least 24 hours before renewal.
  • Pro missing after reinstalling or on a new device: tap Restore purchases, signed in with the Apple ID you bought with.
  • Refunds are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. We can’t issue them ourselves.
  • Family Sharing is on for every Pro purchase. Family members get Pro through their own Apple ID once your Apple family group is set up.
  • If Pro ends, you can still view, export and delete everything. Only adding beyond the free limits stops.

Duress vault

A duress vault (Pro) is one you can open if you’re made to unlock the app. When it’s opened, every other vault on that device is erased for good, and recovery phrases can’t bring them back. Turn it on last, from inside the vault with Make this the duress vault, then lock.

Deleting data can be against the law in some situations, such as a legal order or a search. Read the terms and get advice if you’re unsure.

Something isn’t working

  • A pattern won’t open a vault: patterns are exact, including the starting dot and direction. Try the recovery phrase.
  • An import stops: make sure the phone has free storage. Large videos need room while they’re encrypted.
  • The camera won’t open: allow camera access for Pearlin in iOS Settings, then Pearlin.
  • A file won’t export: check the vault’s storage and try again; a shared copy with “Exports off” can’t be saved out by design.

Still stuck? Email support@pearlin.app with what you tried, your iPhone or iPad model and the app version (in App settings, under About).