Step by step.

Set up your first vault

1. Open Brikwall. Read the short intro or tap Skip.
2. Draw a pattern through at least 7 dots without lifting your finger. Watch the strength meter: more turns, jumps and grid coverage make it stronger.
3. Check the path, tap Use pattern, then draw it again to confirm.
4. Save your 12 recovery words now (recommended) or choose Set up later.
5. Do the practice unlock. You're in.

Pick a pattern you can draw without looking but nobody would guess from your phone's lock screen. Don't reuse your phone's own pattern.

Hide photos and videos

1. On the vault's home screen, tap Add +, then Photos & videos.
2. Pick items in Android's photo picker. Brikwall only sees what you choose.
3. Wait for them to be sealed.
4. When asked, choose to remove the originals. Android shows its own confirmation screen listing exactly what will be deleted (Android 11 and newer).
5. Check Google Photos' trash and any cloud backup. Items you delete there may still exist in Google Photos backups until you delete them there too.

Take photos inside the vault

1. Tap Camera on the vault's home screen and allow camera access the first time.
2. Swipe left or right to switch between photo and video.
3. Shoot. Each capture is sealed straight away and never appears in your gallery.

Video needs Android 11 or newer. Each recording can be up to 400 MB, which is several minutes at 1080p.

Add and read documents

1. Tap Add +, then Files, and pick one or more files.
2. Open Files on the home screen and tap a document.
3. PDFs open page by page; pinch or double-tap to zoom. Word, Markdown and text files open as readable pages.

File types Brikwall can't show (older .doc files, password-protected PDFs, audio and others) are still stored safely. Use Export a copy to open them in another app, then delete the export afterwards.

Save your recovery phrase

1. Open Settings → Recovery phrase and draw your pattern.
2. Choose one way to keep the 12 words:
   • Copy, then paste into your password manager within 90 seconds. The clipboard clears itself after that.
   • Print card. Prints the words and a QR code. Keep it with your passport.
   • Write them down in order, on paper.
3. Enter the two words Brikwall asks for, so you know you have them right.

Anyone with the words (or the card's QR code) can open the vault. Keep them where you'd keep a spare house key, never in your photos or notes.

Back up to Google Drive

1. Open Settings → Backup and draw your pattern if asked.
2. Tap Send to Google Drive or an app, then pick Drive and a folder.
3. Or tap Save to a folder instead to keep the file on the phone or an SD card.
4. Repeat after adding anything important. Backups are full copies; they don't update themselves.

The backup holds every vault on the phone, encrypted. It opens only with a recovery phrase.

Restore on a new phone

1. Install Brikwall on the new phone.
2. On the first screen, tap I have a vault, then Restore. Or open the backup file straight from Google Drive and choose Brikwall.
3. Pick your backup file.
4. Enter or scan your 12 recovery words.
5. Draw a new pattern. Old patterns only work on the old phone, because they're tied to its hardware.

Forgot your pattern

1. On the lock screen, tap Forgot pattern?
2. Enter your 12 words, or tap Scan recovery card.
3. Draw a new pattern. Your old one stops working.

Without the pattern or the words, the vault can't be opened by anyone. We can't reset it, because we never had the key.

Make a second vault

1. Lock the vault (the lock button, or just leave the app).
2. On the lock screen, tap New vault.
3. Draw a different pattern. Each pattern opens only its own vault.

There's no list of vaults anywhere. To switch, lock and draw the other pattern.

Set up a duress pattern Pro

1. Open the vault you'd be willing to show, the decoy.
2. Go to Settings → Duress pattern and draw a new pattern for it.
3. Put a few believable photos in the decoy so it doesn't look empty.
4. Practise drawing it, but only in your head. Drawing it for real erases every other vault on the phone.

Make sure you have a recent backup and your recovery words first. A duress wipe can't be undone on the phone.

Disguise the app Pro

1. Open Settings → Disguise.
2. Choose an icon: Calculator, Notes, Weather or Clock. Tap a name to rename it.
3. Optionally turn on the calculator cover. The app then opens as a working calculator; hold = for one second to reach the pattern.
4. Leave the app for the change to take effect. Android restarts the home-screen icon then.

Turn on break-in alerts Pro

1. Open Settings → Break-in alerts and turn on Photograph wrong attempts.
2. Allow camera access.
3. Choose when the first photo is taken: after 1, 2 or 3 wrong tries.

The next time you open a vault after a wrong attempt, Home shows an alert. Tap it to see who tried and when.

Use fingerprint or face

1. Set up a strong fingerprint or face unlock in Android's settings first.
2. In Brikwall, open Settings → Quick unlock and turn it on.

Quick unlock works for a short time after you leave the app. After a restart, the pattern is always needed.

Get a file back out

1. Open the item and tap the export button.
2. Confirm. The exported copy is not protected, so choose where it goes carefully.
3. Delete the export when you're done with it.