Passwords & security

On the sign-in screen, tap your name, then Forgot password? and enter your recovery key. We can’t reset passwords or recover data, because your password encrypts it.

If you’ve lost your recovery key too, another adult in your household can reset your password, unless you’ve turned that off in Lock & Security. You’ll get a notification, and your old password keeps working for 7 days with a “was this you?” screen that can stop the change.

In the Kin app, open Family → Lock & Security → Change password.

If you can still sign in, open Family → Lock & Security and replace your recovery key. That creates a new one and retires the old one right away, so save the new one somewhere safe.

Yes. Open Family → Lock & Security and turn on the option to require Face ID (or Touch ID) to open Kin on that device.

Your data lives on your Mac, so nothing is lost. On your Mac, open Kin Server, go to Devices and remove that phone. It’s signed out right away. Once you’re set up on a new phone, change your password in Family → Lock & Security.

• It stays in your home. Conversations, memories, photos and everyone’s accounts are stored on your Mac, not in a cloud.
• It’s encrypted with your passwords. Each person’s data is locked with keys made from their own password, and each person’s private data is kept in its own separate store, apart from what your family shares. We don’t have the keys.
• Your phone keeps only a copy of what it has shown you, so Kin still works when your Mac is slow to answer. That copy is protected by your phone’s lock, and by Kin’s Face ID lock if you turn it on.
• Away from home, it’s sealed. Our relay passes along encrypted traffic that it can’t read.

Turn on FileVault for extra protection. FileVault encrypts your Mac’s whole disk, so if the Mac itself is ever lost or stolen, nothing on it can be read. On your Mac, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → FileVault and turn it on.

If your Mac is lost or stolen, your family’s data stays encrypted. To get Kin back, set up a new Mac and choose Moving from another Mac with your most recent backup. Your nightly backups live on the Mac itself, so now and then save an encrypted copy somewhere else too (see Is my data backed up?).