Documentation

Account and security

Sign in, unlock the encrypted vault, use the recovery phrase, and recover access safely.

BullionFolio separates account access from vault access. Your email and password authenticate the account; the same password also unlocks the encryption key that decrypts your transactions in the browser.

Sign in

Open the app and sign in with your email and password, or via OAuth.

  • Login is blocked until your email is verified.
  • If you try to sign in before verifying, the login form offers Resend verification email.
  • A resend is blocked for 5 minutes after the previous email, and verification links expire after 30 minutes.
  • Unverified accounts receive a reminder after 6 days and are removed after 7 days.

A password sign-in normally unlocks the vault in the same step. See Getting started for the full first-session flow.

Unlock the vault

The encryption key is kept in-memory only, never in local storage. Reloading the page or opening a new tab therefore returns you to the unlock screen.

Enter your password on the Enter your password screen. A wrong password cannot unlock the vault, even if the account password was correct on a previous device.

OAuth sign-in

OAuth signins for Google and GitHub and enabled. OAuth does not provide the password used for encryption. On the first OAuth sign-in you create an encryption password. On later sign-ins you enter it on the unlock screen. This password can and should be different from your OAuth password.

Sign out

Use the sign-out control in the sidebar. Signing out removes the local session token and clears the in-memory encryption key.

Change your password

Open Settings and use Change password.

  1. Enter your current password.
  2. Enter and confirm the new password.
  3. Submit the form.

The password must be at least 12 characters and include uppercase and lowercase letters, a number, and a special character.

Changing the password re-wraps your encryption key under the new password automatically. Other sessions are signed out; the device making the change stays signed in.

Recovery phrase

When encryption is first set up, BullionFolio shows a 24-word recovery phrase.

  • It is the only way to recover encrypted transactions if you forget your password.
  • It is shown once. Copy it or download the .txt file and store it offline.
  • Anyone with the phrase can recover the vault, so treat it like the transactions themselves.
  • BullionFolio cannot show it again or reset encrypted transactions for you.

To generate a new phrase, open Settings, enter your current password under Recovery phrase, and choose Generate New Recovery Phrase. The old phrase stops working immediately. Save the new one before continuing.

Forgot your password

Use Forgot password? on the login screen.

  1. Enter your email and submit the form.
  2. Open the reset link from the email. Reset links expire after 30 minutes.
  3. Enter a new password that meets the same policy.
  4. If the account has an encrypted vault, enter your recovery phrase so the browser can re-wrap the encryption key under the new password.
  5. Submit the reset.

All active sessions are signed out. If you do not have the recovery phrase, you can choose to permanently delete all transactions and continue with an empty vault; see below.

If an account or email does not exist, the form still gives the same response. That is intentional and does not confirm whether an email is registered.

Lost password and lost recovery phrase

If you have lost both the password and the recovery phrase, the encrypted transactions cannot be recovered. The only path is Permanently delete all my transactions on the reset form.

That option:

  • Deletes every transaction in the account.
  • Clears the encryption key material.
  • Leaves the account and email intact.
  • Cannot be undone.

After the reset, sign in and set up encryption again, then re-import or re-enter past transactions.

What is encrypted

Transaction contents are encrypted in the browser before they are sent to the server. That includes dates, metal data, prices, location, lot ID, and BullionVault deal IDs.

The server stores ciphertext and a deal-ID HMAC, not plaintext transaction rows.

Account profile data is not encrypted: name, email, preferences, verification state, and billing details remain readable to the service.

  • Settings — preferences, password, and recovery phrase controls.
  • Billing — trial, plan, and payment method.
  • Troubleshooting — sign-in, unlock, and reset problems.
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