These are the questions people most often ask about the Zoho Vault recovery key, answered from Zoho's own FAQ. For the step-by-step guide, see Zoho Vault Recovery Key: Reset a Forgotten Master Password Without Losing Data, and for the administrator controls, see Zoho Vault: Restrict Recovery Key Generation.
It is a backup key that you generate in advance and store yourself. Zoho Vault never stores your master password, so if you forget it, the recovery key is the only way to set a new one without wiping your business and personal passwords.
It is still worth setting one up. You must generate it while you still have access, because you cannot create one after you have forgotten your master password. Zoho compares it to cutting a spare key before you get locked out.
Go to Settings, open the recovery key option under Security, tick the confirmation checkbox, and click the generate button. Our guide has the full steps.
No. The key is displayed once, when it is generated, and is not stored anywhere on Zoho's side. If you still remember your master password, generate a new key straight away. That invalidates the lost one, which also closes the risk of someone else finding it.
Recovering with a valid key re-encrypts your vault under the new master password. All your passwords, folders, and shared data remain intact.
You can reset your master password from the Welcome to Zoho Vault page using Forgot your master password, but your personal passwords are permanently deleted and only enterprise passwords are retained.
Yes. Administrators can restrict it for the organisation under Fine-Grained Controls in Settings. If it is restricted, users do not see the option to generate a key, and an existing key does not work for recovery.