Question 1

What is Arweave permanent backup?

Accepted Answer

Arweave is a decentralized storage network where data is paid for once and persisted forever across thousands of independent nodes. Vaulty uses it (via Irys) to write a one-time, immutable copy of your already-encrypted vault envelope.

It's a cold safety net: even if your device, Google Drive and our database all disappeared on the same day, the encrypted envelope would still be there for you to recover from.

Question 2

Is my seed phrase stored in plain-text anywhere?

Accepted Answer

No. Your recovery phrase is encrypted on your device with AES-256-GCM (the same authenticated cipher used by 1Password, Signal and modern banking apps) before it is ever written to disk, synced to Google Drive, or uploaded to Arweave.

The key that unlocks it is derived from your password / biometric inside your browser. Vaulty servers never see the key, the seed phrase, or the unencrypted vault.

Question 3

How does the 2-of-3 split-shard upgrade work?

Accepted Answer

Instead of one encrypted envelope, the upgrade uses Shamir's Secret Sharing to split the AES key into three independent shards. Each shard alone tells an attacker nothing. Any two shards can reconstruct the key.

The three shards are spread across different storage destinations — typically Local download, Arweave and IPFS (Pinata). If any single provider disappears, the remaining two are still enough to restore. You stay in control of where every shard lives.

Question 4

Can anyone else read my backup on Arweave?

Accepted Answer

No. What's on Arweave is opaque ciphertext — AES-256-GCM with a per-user key that never leaves your device. Without that key, the bytes are unreadable, indistinguishable from random noise, and can't be brute-forced in any reasonable timeframe.

The on-chain pointer (a tiny Solana memo) only contains a hashed, salted user tag — not your address, email, or Google ID.

Question 5

How do I know my backup worked?

Accepted Answer

Open Account → Security → Permanent Backup. The status badge shows ✅ Enabled with the timestamp of the last successful upload and a link to the Arweave transaction.

The "Verify backup" button refetches the stored envelope from the Arweave gateway, re-hashes it locally and confirms the hash matches the one we recorded — without ever decrypting it.

Question 6

Can I restore with only one shard?

Accepted Answer

No — that's the whole point of Shamir 2-of-3. A single shard is mathematically insufficient to recover the AES key. You need any two of the three.

This is why the upgrade is stronger: an attacker who compromises one storage provider still can't read your wallet, and you can lose one shard and still recover.

Question 7

Does Vaulty ever see or store my backup key?

Accepted Answer

Never. The encryption key is derived inside your browser from inputs only you control (password, biometric attestation, or your auth-provider seed). Vaulty's server only stores the encrypted envelope and a hash — it has no way to derive or reconstruct the key.

This is enforced by the architecture: even with full database access, our staff cannot decrypt a user's backup.

Question 8

Does Vaulty ever hold my keys or funds?

Accepted Answer

No. Vaulty is non-custodial. Keys are generated and stored on your device, protected by biometric or PIN unlock. Vaulty servers never see or back up your raw keys.

Question 9

What happens if I lose my device?

Accepted Answer

Restore from your recovery phrase, your Google Drive copy, or your permanent Arweave backup. Vaulty cannot recover the phrase for you — that's what keeps it non-custodial.

Question 10

Why did my biometric unlock time out?

Accepted Answer

For your safety, the unlocked session is held in memory only and lapses after the auto-lock window. You can adjust the window in Settings → Login & Access.

Question 11

What fees does Vaulty charge?

Accepted Answer

Standard Solana network fees apply. Vaulty covers the one-time Arweave permanent-backup fee on your behalf.

Question 12

My send failed with an 'insufficient rent or fee' error — what now?

Accepted Answer

Solana requires every account to keep a tiny minimum balance (around 0.00089 SOL) so it stays 'rent-exempt' on the network. It also needs enough SOL to cover the network fee for the next transaction.

If you try to send your exact full balance, the transaction is rejected on-chain — no funds move, but it briefly shows as pending before failing. To fix it:

• Tap 'Max' instead of typing the full amount — Vaulty's Max button now automatically reserves both the fee and the rent minimum, so a Max send is always safe.
• Or top up your wallet with a small amount of SOL (0.001 is plenty) and retry.

If a transaction did fail, no SOL left your wallet — only the small network fee for the failed attempt may show in history.

Question 13

How do trust badges work?

Accepted Answer

Badges are earned from on-chain activity and security habits — biometric enrollment, permanent-backup enabled, multi-zone setup, etc. They contribute to your local Vaulty Trust Score.

Question 14

What is gas?

Accepted Answer

Gas is the tiny fee paid to the Solana network to process and secure your transaction — like a small running cost for the system.

It goes to the people running the network (validators), keeping things safe, fast, and always working. On Solana, gas never costs more than a few pennies, even for large amounts.

Question 15

Does the gas price change?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes — when lots of people use the network at once, prices can go up or down a little automatically. Vaulty's Gas Optimizer watches this for you and adjusts in real time.

Question 16

How does the speed dial affect my fee?

Accepted Answer

🐢 Careful & Cheap uses the lowest fee — great for everyday sends when you don't mind a little extra wait.

⚖️ Balanced offers a good mix of quick confirmation and fair price. This is the best choice for most users.

⚡️ Quick & Sure adds a small extra tip so your transaction jumps to the front of the line — perfect for time-sensitive trades or mints.

Question 17

Can I really save money with the Gas Optimizer?

Accepted Answer

Yes. By choosing Careful & Cheap for non-urgent sends and letting Vaulty bundle multiple actions into one transaction, you can cut fees by up to 30–50% compared to always using the fastest setting.

Question 18

What does the Shield policy backup actually save?

Accepted Answer

Your Shield/Zone setup isn't a single seed — it's a multisig configuration plus rules: cosigners, time-rules, trusted addresses, withdrawal delay, daily cap, permission zones. The policy backup snapshots that JSON, encrypts it on your device with your sign-in identity (Google sub or passkey credential), and pins the opaque ciphertext to Arweave forever.

It does NOT move funds. Funds-recovery still goes through your cosigners. The backup only lets you rebuild the exact same multisig configuration on a fresh device without retyping every rule.

Question 19

How do I restore my Shield policy on a new device?

Accepted Answer

Sign in with the same identity (Google account or passkey) you used at backup, open Shield settings, then tap 'Restore on this device' in the Recovery card. Vaulty fetches the encrypted envelope from Arweave, decrypts it locally with your auth-derived key, and rehydrates your cosigners, time-rules, trusted addresses and zones.

If decryption fails, you're signed in with a different identity than the one used at backup — switch accounts and try again.

Question 20

What is an emergency cosigner?

Accepted Answer

An emergency cosigner is a trusted contact you pre-enroll with their Solana public key. They can co-approve a recovery request when you've lost every device. They cannot spend on your behalf — they can only approve recovery actions you initiate.

We recommend enrolling at least two. That way you can lose one cosigner and still recover.

Question 21

I lost every device — what now?

Accepted Answer

If you enrolled emergency cosigners, contact them and ask them to approve your recovery request. Sign in on the new device with your original Google account or passkey, open Shield settings and start a recovery action — your cosigners will be notified via their enrolled Telegram chat or email.

If you also enabled the Shield policy backup, the new device will rehydrate your full multisig configuration automatically once you sign in.

Question 22

What is Vaulty?

Accepted Answer

Vaulty is a self-custodial wallet, payments rail and rewards platform built on Solana. We make crypto feel like banking — biometric unlock, plain-language flows, permanent backup — without ever taking custody of your keys or funds.

Our mission is to give everyday people bank-grade safety with full ownership of their assets.

Question 23

Why self-custody?

Accepted Answer

Custodial wallets and exchanges have failed catastrophically — repeatedly. With Vaulty your keys live on your device, encrypted with the same cipher banks use, and backed up to networks no single entity controls. We can never freeze, lose, or move your funds.

Question 24

How does Vaulty make money?

Accepted Answer

Modest spreads on optional swaps, partner integration revenue, and treasury yield. We never sell your data, never run ads against your transactions, and never charge custody fees — because we don't custody anything.

Question 25

What is 'the vault'?

Accepted Answer

Your vault is an encrypted container on your device that holds your wallet keys, recovery phrase and settings. It only opens when you unlock it with biometrics or your PIN, and it locks again automatically after a short idle window.

Question 26

Biometric vs PIN — which should I use?

Accepted Answer

Use biometric (Face ID / fingerprint) for daily speed and PIN as a guaranteed fallback. Biometrics never leave your device; the operating system gives Vaulty a one-shot attestation that you proved you're you.

Question 27

How do I set up Vaulty for the first time?

Accepted Answer

1) Create a wallet — your recovery phrase is generated locally and encrypted before it touches disk.

2) Set your PIN and enable biometrics.

3) Enable Permanent Backup so a copy of your encrypted envelope is written to Arweave forever.

4) You're done — your vault is now redundantly protected.

Question 28

What is Vaulty Reserve?

Accepted Answer

Reserve is an in-vault yield account for your idle USDC. It accrues interest at a published APY, settled at fixed intervals, and is fully withdrawable any time.

Question 29

Is Reserve safe?

Accepted Answer

Reserve allocations stay on-chain in audited contracts and are visible at any time on Solana explorers. We publish the current strategy mix and a real-time treasury page so you can verify what's backing your balance.

Question 30

How do withdrawals work?

Accepted Answer

Tap Withdraw, choose an amount, confirm with biometrics. Most withdrawals settle instantly; very large ones may queue briefly while the strategy rebalances. You always remain in control of your funds.

Question 31

How do competition tickets work?

Accepted Answer

Each ticket is recorded on Solana against the wallet that paid for it. When you connect that wallet on the Competitions page, your tickets appear automatically. Draws are provably fair and recorded on-chain.

Question 32

I switched wallets — where are my tickets?

Accepted Answer

Tickets follow the wallet that bought them. Switch back to the original wallet in your wallet adapter (Phantom, Solflare, etc.) and they'll appear again. Use the Refresh button if you're still mid-switch.

Question 33

How are winners selected and paid?

Accepted Answer

Winners are picked from on-chain randomness, verifiable in the draw transaction. Payouts go directly to the winning wallet, with no manual approval required.

Question 34

How long does partner integration take?

Accepted Answer

Payment links: minutes. Embed button: under an hour. Full SDK + webhooks: typically a day. White-label: a few days including DNS.

Question 35

Can a partner move my funds without my permission?

Accepted Answer

No. Every transfer requires your explicit on-device approval. Partners can only ask — you decide.

Question 36

Can I use Vaulty on more than one device?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Restore the same recovery phrase on a second device and enable biometrics there too. Each device keeps its own encrypted vault — there is no central session that can be hijacked.

Question 37

How do I reset biometrics?

Accepted Answer

Account → Login & Access → Reset biometric. You'll be asked to re-verify with your PIN before re-enrolling.

Question 38

A page is stuck loading — what should I try?

Accepted Answer

1) Tap Refresh on the panel if available.

2) Pull-to-refresh the page.

3) Disconnect and reconnect your wallet.

4) Switch to a different RPC in Settings → Network if you're on a flaky connection.

Question 39

My transaction failed — did I lose funds?

Accepted Answer

No. Failed Solana transactions don't move funds — you only pay the tiny network fee. Re-submit with a higher priority via the Gas dial if the network is busy.

Question 40

What data does Vaulty collect?

Accepted Answer

The minimum to run the service: anonymized device fingerprints for fraud prevention, opt-in email for account recovery, and on-chain wallet addresses (which are public anyway). We never sell or share personal data.

Question 41

Where are the Terms of Service?

Accepted Answer

See the Terms page — written in plain English, not legal soup.

Question 42

Which wallets can I recover, and how?

Accepted Answer

Every wallet Vaulty creates has a recovery path. The path depends on the wallet type:

• Signer / Trader — recover from your seed phrase, Google Drive copy, or Arweave permanent backup.

• Shield / Zone (multisig) — recover the policy from Arweave, then approve via your cosigners. Emergency cosigners cover the worst case.

• External (Phantom, Solflare, Backpack, etc.) — Vaulty shows a Google identity mirror, but the keys live in that external wallet. Recovery happens in that wallet, not in Vaulty.

• Passkey — sign in with the same passkey on a new device; the auth-seed rebinds and your backup envelope is rehydrated.

Open Account → Recover to see the right flow for the wallet you're trying to restore.

Question 43

How do I recover a Signer or Trader wallet?

Accepted Answer

Signer and Trader wallets are single-seed wallets. You have three independent recovery paths — any one of them is enough:

1. Recovery phrase — type the 12 or 24 words you wrote down at setup.

2. Google Drive copy — sign in with the same Google account; Vaulty fetches the encrypted envelope and re-derives your key on your device.

3. Arweave permanent backup — if Permanent Backup was enabled, the encrypted envelope was pinned forever. Sign in with the same identity used at backup and tap Restore.

Whichever path you use, decryption happens on your device. Vaulty never sees the seed.

Question 44

How do I recover a Shield or Zone wallet?

Accepted Answer

Shield and Zone wallets are multisig configurations, not single seeds. Recovery has two parts:

Part A — rebuild the configuration: open Account → Shield → Recovery and tap Restore on this device. Vaulty fetches your policy envelope from Arweave and decrypts it locally with your auth-derived key. Your cosigners, time-rules, trusted addresses and zones are restored exactly as they were.

Part B — re-approve signing: a Shield wallet needs M-of-N cosigners. Open the wallet, initiate a recovery action, and your cosigners co-approve from their own devices. Funds never move without that quorum.

If every device is lost, see the next article on emergency cosigners.

Question 45

How does recovery work for external wallets (Phantom, Solflare, Backpack)?

Accepted Answer

Vaulty does not — and cannot — hold the keys for an external wallet. What Vaulty stores is a Google identity mirror so the wallet shows the right name, avatar and metadata after you reconnect.

To recover an external wallet, follow that wallet's own recovery flow in their app or extension. Then in Vaulty, tap Connect on the wallet card and re-link it. Vaulty re-attaches the identity mirror and your history, badges and tickets re-appear instantly.

Question 46

How does passkey recovery work?

Accepted Answer

Passkeys are bound to your platform (Apple, Google or Microsoft) and synced across your devices by the OS. On a new device, sign in with the same passkey — your auth-seed is regenerated deterministically from the passkey credential, and Vaulty rehydrates your encrypted envelope.

If you also enabled Permanent Backup, the envelope comes from Arweave automatically. If a single passkey is lost (e.g. you wiped iCloud Keychain), recover via your seed phrase or Google Drive copy — the passkey is one of several recovery paths, never the only one.

Question 47

I signed up with Google — what's my recovery path?

Accepted Answer

Signing in with Google binds your wallet to your Google subject ID (a stable, opaque identifier — never your email or name). Your encryption key is derived from that ID plus your password / biometric, so two Google users can never share a key by accident.

To recover: sign in with the same Google account on the new device. Vaulty fetches your encrypted envelope from Google Drive (or Arweave, if Permanent Backup is on), re-derives the key on your device, and you're back in. Vaulty servers never see the key, the seed, or the unencrypted vault.

Question 48

I don't have my phrase and I never enabled backup — anything I can do?

Accepted Answer

Honestly: very little. Self-custody means the keys belong to you alone, and without a phrase, a Google Drive copy, an Arweave envelope or an emergency cosigner there is no backdoor — not even for us.

What to try: check every password manager and Notes app you use; sign back into Google on a familiar browser; check Account → Recovery & Backups for any historical envelope; contact support to confirm you've exhausted every option. We will be honest with you about what's possible.

Question 49

Why Arweave (and not just our database)?

Accepted Answer

A self-custody wallet can't depend on any single company staying online. Arweave is a decentralized permanent-storage network: data is paid for once and replicated across thousands of independent miners forever.

That means even if Vaulty disappeared overnight, your encrypted envelope would still be retrievable from any Arweave gateway. Your recovery path doesn't depend on us.

Question 50

What exactly gets pinned to Arweave?

Accepted Answer

Only opaque ciphertext. For single-seed wallets it's your AES-256-GCM-encrypted vault envelope. For Shield/Zone it's your AES-encrypted policy snapshot — cosigners, time-rules, trusted addresses, zones — never the wallet's signing material (Shield wallets have no single secret to back up; cosigners hold that).

No plaintext, no email, no Google ID, no wallet address in the clear. The on-chain pointer (a tiny Solana memo) contains only a hashed, salted user tag so your client can find its own envelope.

Question 51

How is my envelope encrypted, exactly?

Accepted Answer

AES-256-GCM with a 96-bit IV and a per-user 256-bit key. The key is derived inside your browser via PBKDF2/Argon2 (depending on platform) from inputs only you control: your password, biometric attestation, or your auth-provider seed (Google sub or passkey credential).

Because the key never leaves your device, the bytes pinned to Arweave are indistinguishable from random noise to anyone except you. There is no master key, no escrow, and no recovery hatch for staff.

Question 52

How can I verify my backup hasn't been tampered with?

Accepted Answer

Open Account → Security → Permanent Backup → Verify backup. Vaulty:

1) Fetches the envelope from a public Arweave gateway.

2) Re-hashes the ciphertext locally.

3) Compares it to the hash we recorded at upload time.

If the hash matches, the bytes are byte-for-byte the same as the day you pinned them. Verification never decrypts — your password is not asked, your key is not derived, and the envelope stays opaque.

Question 53

Who pays for the Arweave upload?

Accepted Answer

Vaulty does, via Irys. You see a one-tap Enable button; we cover the small one-time fee on your behalf for every wallet you protect. There is no recurring cost — Arweave is paid once, kept forever.

Question 54

How does Arweave backup work for Shield / Zone wallets?

Accepted Answer

Shield/Zone wallets are a multisig + policy, so there is no single seed to encrypt. Instead Vaulty snapshots your policy JSON (cosigners, time-rules, trusted addresses, zones), seals it on-device with your auth-derived key, and pins the opaque ciphertext to Arweave.

On a new device, sign in with the same identity, open Shield → Recovery, and tap Restore on this device. The policy is rehydrated exactly as you left it. Funds-recovery still requires your cosigners — the policy backup just rebuilds the configuration so you don't have to retype every rule.

Question 55

When should I use the 2-of-3 split-shard upgrade?

Accepted Answer

For high-value vaults. Standard Permanent Backup writes one encrypted envelope. The split upgrade uses Shamir's Secret Sharing to split the AES key into three independent shards across different storage providers — typically Local download, Arweave and IPFS/Pinata.

Any single shard is mathematically useless. Any two reconstruct the key. So an attacker who compromises one provider still can't read your vault, and you can lose one shard and still recover.

Question 56

Can I delete my Arweave backup?

Accepted Answer

Arweave is permanent by design — the ciphertext bytes cannot be removed from the network. You can, however, rotate your key, which makes the old envelope undecryptable forever. Open Permanent Backup → Rotate key.

We also remove your indexed pointer from our database on request, so the envelope becomes unfindable through Vaulty — even though the bytes remain unreadable noise on the network.

Question 57

The 5-minute safety checklist

Accepted Answer

Do these once and you're in the top 1% of self-custody hygiene:

1) Write your recovery phrase on paper. Two copies, two locations. Never a photo, never a cloud note.

2) Enable biometric unlock and set a memorable PIN you'd never use anywhere else.

3) Turn on Permanent Backup (Arweave) for every wallet.

4) For Shield/Zone: enroll at least two emergency cosigners.

5) Verify your backup once a quarter (Settings → Permanent Backup → Verify).

That's it. Five minutes, lifetime protection.

Question 58

Where should I store my recovery phrase?

Accepted Answer

Two physical copies in two trusted locations: a fireproof safe, a safety deposit box, with a trusted family member. Use metal seed plates (Cryptosteel, Billfodl) for fire and water resistance.

Never: a screenshot, a Notes app, a draft email, a synced document, a password manager (unless you fully trust its zero-knowledge model), or anyone's cloud storage. If it can be searched, it can be stolen.

Question 59

How do I avoid phishing scams?

Accepted Answer

The biggest risk in self-custody is being tricked into approving a transaction. Rules of thumb:

• Vaulty staff will never DM you. Not on Telegram, not on Discord, not on X. Ever.

• Never type your recovery phrase into a website. Vaulty never asks for it after setup.

• Read every transaction prompt before approving. If the receiving address or token name looks unfamiliar, cancel.

• Bookmark vaulty.world. Don't trust search-ad links.

• Connect only to apps you actually use. Disconnect dApps you're done with in Account → Connections.

Question 60

Who should I pick as an emergency cosigner?

Accepted Answer

People who are reachable, trustworthy and will outlive you in terms of contact: a sibling, a long-term friend, a lawyer, a co-founder. Pick at least two so you can lose one and still recover.

Emergency cosigners cannot spend on your behalf — they can only co-approve a recovery action you initiate. That's why even a non-crypto-native friend can hold this role safely.

Question 61

How often should I review my security setup?

Accepted Answer

Every 3 months, do this 60-second check:

• Open Permanent Backup → Verify backup (each wallet).

• Open Shield → Recovery and confirm cosigners are still reachable.

• Open Connections and disconnect anything you no longer use.

• Skim your transaction history for anything you don't recognize.

Set a quarterly calendar reminder. Future-you will thank present-you.

Question 62

Should I do a recovery drill?

Accepted Answer

Yes — once. On a spare device or a fresh browser profile, recover from your phrase or Permanent Backup and confirm the balances match. Then wipe the spare. You'll know your backup actually works, which is the whole point of having one.

A backup you've never tested is a backup you don't have.

Question 63

What's the fastest way to reach Vaulty support?

Accepted Answer

For account or recovery issues: open a ticket at /support — it routes straight to the on-call engineer.

For security incidents (suspected compromise, lost device): email security@vaulty.world. Tagged urgent and read within the hour during business hours.

For general questions: hello@vaulty.world.

For community help: our official Telegram and Discord — links on /contact. We never DM first; if someone DMs you claiming to be Vaulty staff, it's a scam.

Question 64

What information should I include in a ticket?

Accepted Answer

Help us help you fast:

• A short description of what you tried and what happened.

• Wallet address (public, safe to share).

• Approximate time of the issue and your timezone.

• Browser / device (e.g. iPhone 15, Safari).

• Any error message — a screenshot is gold.

Never send your recovery phrase, password, PIN, or private keys. No legitimate support request needs them.

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