Finding a Lost Encryption Key

Your personal encryption key is vital for the app’s ability to sync and decrypt your information. Your key is used for all templates and all end-to-end encrypted Journals.

Because your unique key is what makes sure you’re the only one who can read your content, Day One does not have access to a copy of your key. While we don’t have a copy of your key, we do keep a record when you save your key, so if you provide us with your user ID, we can check whether you have previously saved your key and point you in the right direction to find it.

If you’re not sure if you have a key, you can look for it in the app in the following places:

• iOS: Day One > Settings > Sync > Encryption Key
• Mac: Day One > Settings > Sync > Advanced > View Encryption Key
• Android: Day One > Settings > Sync > Encryption Key
• Web: Day One > Settings > Account > Encryption Key

If you don’t see your key here, we do offer other options for places it may be saved, depending on the platform you’re using.

To help you save your key, we give you the options to save your Key:

iOS Encryption Key Backup Options

• Backup to Google Drive
• Backup to iCloud
• Send to Email Address
• Print
• Copy

Android Encryption Key Backup Options

• Backup to Google Drive
• Backup to iCloud
• Send to Email Address
• Print
• Copy

Mac Encryption Key Backup Options

• Save to iCloud
• Save as PDF to Disk
• Print

Web Encryption Key Backup Options

• Save to Google Drive
• Save to iCloud
• Download PDF

Searching for a downloaded key

If you downloaded a PDF backup of your encryption key, you can search the file system on your device/computer for the default filename:

• Web/Windows: Day One Master Key Backup.pdf
• iOS: DayOneMasterKey.pdf
• macOS/Android: DayOneKey.pdf

Note that it’s possible to edit the filename when downloading the key, so these default filenames may not match if you saved the key under a different name.

To verify the Encryption Key is correct for your account, the first batch of numbers after D1 should match your User ID.

Because your key is vital to making sure you’re the only one who can read your content, Day One does not have a copy of your key. This means it’s up to you to keep a copy of the key.

If you still can’t find your key after checking all possible places, please follow our guide to generate a new one.

Important: Never share your encryption key with anyone else, even when using shared journals.