# Passkeys, Face ID and your 12 words

> How you open your vault, and how you get back in. Markdown copy of https://kuuko.app/learn/passkeys-face-id-and-your-12-words/ for agents; the HTML page is the source. Facts checked 28 October 2026. Part of Kuuko's Learn articles, the same as in the app.

Your Kuuko vault holds your aliases and your ledger. It has no user name, no email address and no password. You open it with a passkey, and you get it back with 12 words.

## Passkeys

On iPhone:
- A passkey is a key kept on your iPhone that opens your vault. You unlock it with Face ID, Touch ID or your device code.

On Mac:
- A passkey is a key kept on your Mac that opens your vault. You unlock it with Touch ID or your Mac password.

- Its secret part stays on your device or in your password manager. Kuuko keeps only the public part, which can’t open anything.
- You can have more than one, for example one on your iPhone and one on your Mac.

## The app lock

On iPhone:
- Kuuko locks itself whenever you leave the app. When you come back, you unlock it with Face ID, Touch ID or your device code.

On Mac:
- Kuuko locks itself whenever you switch to another app. When you come back, you unlock it with Touch ID or your Mac password.

## Your 12 words

- The app makes them on your device when you create your vault. They never leave the device.
- Write them on paper and keep them somewhere safe. Anyone who has them can open your vault.
- They restore your vault on a new device and unlock your ledger.
- Never send them to anyone. Nobody at Kuuko will ask for them.

> **If you lose both.** If you lose your passkeys and your 12 words, nobody can restore your vault, not even Kuuko. Kuuko knows nothing about you that could prove the vault is yours.

## What Kuuko keeps to let you in

- Your vault’s random number, which the app shows as your support code.
- A fingerprint of a key made from your 12 words. Not the words themselves.
- The public part of each passkey.
- A fingerprint of each key your device gets when you open your vault, not the key itself. Such a key ends after 90 days at the latest.
- For each device that checks in the background, for example for leak warnings, a fingerprint of its background key. It ends after 30 days.

More in [What Kuuko stores about you](https://kuuko.app/learn/what-kuuko-stores-about-you/).

## Sources

- [Kuuko support page](https://kuuko.app/support/), opened 28 October 2026
- [Privacy at Kuuko](https://kuuko.app/privacy/), opened 28 October 2026