Device key shares are stored exclusively on your device, therefore they are at constant risk of loss or corruption. Personal backup allows you to recover your key shares - required to sign transactions - using a recovery phrase set up on the Utila mobile app.
If any user loses access to their device’s key shares, that device’s signing privileges are revoked. Device key shares can be recovered using your personal backup.
The vault owner, admins, and signers must create a personal backup with the Utila mobile app as part of their user setup.
As part of the setup, a 13-word mnemonic passphrase is auto-generated on the Utila app and is used by the system to create an encrypted backup of all key shares stored on a device (aka "Personal Backup"), which is then stored securely on Utila's cloud servers.
This passphrase is used for device key share recovery in the event of lost access to device key shares for whatever reason (loss, theft, damage, Utila app deletion, device migration). Therefore, this passphrase should be written down (for example, on a piece of paper), stored securely, and managed collectively at the organizational level.
If you lose your passphrase, you can reset it as long as you still have access to the paired vault via the mobile app.
Open the Utila app on your mobile device. Tap the menu (1), select My profile (2), and then tap Personal Backup (3).
The first screen explains why you are doing this. Tap Proceed to auto-generate your recovery phrase.
Each of the 13 words that make up the phrase are presented. You must write these down in the exact order they are presented here. If you need to use this phrase you'll be asked to provide these words in the correct order. Note that the 13th word is publicly available.
When you are ready, tap I have securely stored it.
Confirm that you have stored the recovery phrase by entering the words in the exact order initially displayed. Then click Confirm.
If all goes well, you'll see a success message.
Every so often, you'll be prompted to enter your recovery phrase. Follow the prompts and provide each word in the recovery phase as you wrote them down.
Let your security team know that you have created a recovery passphrase, and ensure you are securing it according to your organization's guidelines.