Received a secure file?
Someone sent it to you with VaultSort. You can open it with what you already have — a PDF app or a web browser — and the password they gave you. No account, nothing to install, and the file never leaves your device.
A PDF (ends in .pdf)
- Open it as you would any PDF: Preview, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Chrome, Edge, or the Files app on a phone.
- Type the password when it asks. Passwords are case-sensitive.
- That’s it — it is an ordinary PDF with a password.
A secure page (ends in .html)
- Save the attachment, then open it in a web browser: Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
- Type the password and choose Unlock.
- Choose Save next to each file to keep a copy. It works offline — you can turn Wi-Fi off first.
Where is the password?
The sender gives it to you another way — by text message, a phone call or in person. It is never in the same email as the file, because a password next to the file would protect nothing.
If you don’t have it, ask the sender. Nobody else, including VaultSort, can recover it.
On a phone or tablet
A PDF opens in the built-in viewer; type the password when asked.
A secure page needs a real browser, not the mail app’s preview. On iPhone or iPad: save it to Files, then open it from Safari’s Downloads or share it to Safari. On Android: download it and open it with Chrome.
Is it safe to open?
Scammers also send attachments that pretend to be “secure messages”, so it is right to be careful. A genuine VaultSort secure page:
- asks for one thing only: the password the sender gave you;
- never asks you to sign in, or for your email or bank password;
- never asks you to download or install anything;
- works with your internet turned off, because it cannot send anything anywhere;
- says “Sent securely with VaultSort” at the bottom, linking here.
If you weren’t expecting a file, or the page asks for anything else, don’t type anything: call the sender on a number you already know and ask whether they sent it.
It won’t open
- “That password is not right.” Check capitals and hyphens, and that nothing was added when you copied it. Ask the sender to read it to you.
- Only text, no password box. Your mail app is showing a preview. Save the file and open it in a web browser.
- “This browser cannot open secure files.” Use a current version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
- “Damaged or changed.” The file was altered on its way. Ask the sender to send it again.
We never see your file
VaultSort encrypts files on the sender’s computer and decrypts them on yours. There is no VaultSort server in between, and this website has no upload box — by design.
The trade-off: without a server, a sent file can’t be taken back and doesn’t expire. Once opened, what you save is an ordinary copy, so keep it somewhere safe.
Send files securely yourself
VaultSort encrypts files for anyone, with no cloud and no account — and redacts documents before you send them. For Mac and Windows. Three secure sends free.