Pro · Arriving with launch
Emergency PIN
This feature does one thing, and does it for good. It is for the person who would rather lose the vault on this phone than have it opened.
What it does
You set a second PIN, the Emergency PIN. If it is ever entered on the lock screen, Silo permanently erases everything in Silo on this phone and opens an empty vault. This cannot be undone.
The app says it directly: nothing can bring your photos and files back without a backup and your recovery phrase. Use it only if you want everything gone.
How it works, step by step
- Open Settings while unlocked and choose Emergency PIN. The row looks the same whether or not one is set.
- Enter your current PIN. Silo checks it’s you.
- Read the warning, then choose Set or change the Emergency PIN. Pro users with a passphrase set an Emergency passphrase instead.
- Choose the PIN. It must be different from your PIN and from every other PIN or passphrase in Silo. Enter it twice.
- If it is ever used, Silo destroys the keys first, which is what makes the vault unreadable. It then removes the data and opens a new, empty vault, with face or fingerprint unlock off.
To remove it later, go back to the same screen and choose Remove the Emergency PIN.
What survives
If you have encrypted backup turned on, the copy in your own cloud storage is not touched. Your recovery phrase can restore it on this phone or another. The new, empty vault has no link to it, and Silo is signed out of your cloud storage.
Without a backup, nothing survives.
Honest limits
- It erases. It does not hide. The aim is to destroy the keys so the data can’t be read. It is not a way to make something look unused, and it doesn’t promise to defeat anyone examining the phone’s storage.
- The result is an empty vault. Someone who has seen your vault in use could find an empty one suspicious.
- Flash storage can’t promise a true overwrite. So the protection comes from destroying the keys first, not from wiping files.
- Someone may know the feature exists, because it is listed in what Silo does.
Questions
When will the Emergency PIN be available?
It is arriving with launch and is still being finished. Silo doesn't give a date.
What exactly does it do?
Entering it on the lock screen permanently erases everything in Silo on this phone and opens an empty vault. This cannot be undone.
Does it erase my cloud backup?
No. A backup in your own cloud storage survives, and your recovery phrase can restore it. Silo does remove its cloud sign-in from the phone.
Can I turn it off?
Yes. In Settings you can change or remove the Emergency PIN, after entering your current PIN.
Is it a Pro feature?
Setting one up is Pro. If a plan ends, one that already exists keeps working.