ZZPass Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 20, 2026
The Short Version: We cannot access your passwords, notes, TOTP codes, or any data stored in your vault. Your data is encrypted on your device before it syncs to iCloud. We don't sell your data to anyone, there are no third-party trackers, and the only telemetry we collect is anonymous, coarse, and can be switched off. Your privacy isn't a feature—it's our foundation.
Our Privacy Promise
ZZPass is built on a zero-knowledge architecture. This means:
✓ Your primary password never leaves your device
✓ Your vault data is encrypted with AES-256 on your device before syncing
✓ We have no technical ability to decrypt your data, even if legally compelled
✓ We don't know what passwords you store or when you use them. Usage data, which you can turn off, includes only a rough vault size
Every claim on this page is backed by the technical detail in our security whitepaper, and the server code that touches user data is open source so the claims can be checked.
What Data We Cannot Access
🔐 Your Vault Contents
Encrypted locally, stored in iCloud:
• Passwords and usernames
• Secure notes
• TOTP secret keys
• Website URLs
• Item titles and other details
All of this data is encrypted on your device with a key made from your primary password and Secret Key. It syncs to iCloud as encrypted blobs; iCloud can see when items were created and changed, but not what's in them. We never have access to the decrypted data or your encryption key.
🔑 Your Primary Password
Your primary password exists only on your devices. It never transmits to our servers or Apple's servers. It's used exclusively to encrypt/decrypt your vault locally.
Important: If you forget your primary password, we cannot recover it for you. You can choose a new one with Face ID or Touch ID on a device that's already set up, or use your printed Emergency Kit, which records your primary password and Secret Key.
📊 Your Usage Patterns
Nothing ZZPass collects can be tied to you. We never collect:
• Which websites you visit
• When you log into accounts
• Anything linked to your identity
The app keeps anonymous, coarse feature counters (see “Anonymous telemetry” below) that map to no user, and you can turn even those off.
What Limited Data We Do Collect
To provide ZZPass service, we collect only the minimum necessary information:
📧 Email Address
Your account email names your account and is printed on your Emergency Kit. It is stored with your account in your own iCloud, not on our servers, and we don't use it to contact you.
We only receive an email address when you give one to Emergency Access for warning emails (see below), or when you write to us for support.
We never share, sell, or rent an email address, and we don't send marketing email.
💳 Payment Information
Handled by Apple: If you subscribe to ZZPass Premium, all payment processing is handled exclusively by Apple through the App Store. We never see or store your credit card number, billing address, or payment details.
The app checks your subscription status with Apple on your device. We don't receive your payment method or any financial information.
🖥️ Device Information
Your list of devices (each device's name and type, and when it last synced) is kept with your account in your own iCloud, not on our servers.
It lets you see which devices can open your vault and sign one out from another.
Anonymous Telemetry & Crash Reports
To find crashes and understand which features matter, the app keeps a small set of counters. They are anonymous, coarse, and opt-out (Settings → Security), and the server that receives them is open source (zzpass-telemetry) so this description can be verified:
• No account, name, email, IP address, precise timestamp, or user-agent is stored. The client IP is used only for rate limiting and never reaches the database
• Events are keyed by a random install id that maps to no user; turning telemetry off wipes it, severing any link even to past events
• Dimensions are coarse buckets (an order-of-magnitude vault size, an OS major version), never URLs, titles, or content
Crash and hang reports use Apple's MetricKit and go to our own server, with no third-party crash SDK. They contain stack traces, OS version, and device model; they never contain vault contents.
How Your Data is Protected
🔒 Encryption At Rest
AES-256 encryption: Your vault data is encrypted using AES-256, the same encryption standard used by governments and financial institutions worldwide.
Derived key: Your encryption key is mathematically derived from your primary password using PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with 650,000 iterations, above current OWASP guidance, making brute-force attacks computationally infeasible.
☁️ iCloud Sync Security
Already encrypted before upload: Your vault is encrypted on your device before being sent to iCloud. Apple stores encrypted data, not plaintext passwords.
Apple's infrastructure: iCloud data is stored in Apple's data centers with their security measures. Neither Apple nor ZZPass can decrypt your vault without your primary password.
🔐 Zero-Knowledge Architecture
Client-side encryption: All encryption and decryption happens on your device. Your primary password and encryption keys never leave your device.
Cannot be compelled: Because we don't have access to your data, we cannot be forced by any government or legal entity to hand over your passwords.
Third-Party Services
Apple Services: ZZPass uses Apple's infrastructure for essential services:
• iCloud - Encrypted vault sync
• App Store - App distribution and subscription processing
• CloudKit - Account management and device synchronization
Apple's privacy practices are governed by their own privacy policy. We chose Apple's ecosystem specifically because of their strong privacy stance and zero third-party advertising.
No other third parties: ZZPass uses no third-party analytics, advertising, or crash-reporting services. The app talks to Apple (for sync and payments) and to our own open-source servers described on this page. The one exception: to show a website's icon, ZZPass fetches it directly from that website, which can see that the icon was requested. The Mac app also checks zzpass.com for updates.
Sharing, Emergency Access & Time Capsules
Items you share with family or teammates are end-to-end encrypted under per-group keys: the people you invite can decrypt them, our infrastructure cannot. People you share with see the email address and display name you choose to share.
Emergency access and time-lock features use a small escrow service we operate (open source: timelock-escrow). It holds encrypted key material it cannot decrypt and the timing metadata needed to enforce waiting periods , never vault contents. For emergency access only, it also holds two small pieces of non-encrypted data, both bounded by purpose:
• A notification email address you provide, used to send you a signed deny link if a contact requests access. It is stored only while the deposit can still be denied, and is deleted automatically when you revoke the deposit or when the waiting period completes.
• An access audit log: access requests and denials are recorded with the requesting IP address and kept for 180 days, and a released key's first retrieval is timestamped, so you can see who triggered a release.
Deposits themselves are durable by design: a released key must remain retrievable so a recipient who loses their device after you are gone does not lose their inheritance. They are deleted when you revoke them.
Browser Extension
A ZZPass browser extension is in development and has not been released, so it collects nothing. Its source code is public. We will update this policy before it ships.
Your Rights & Control
📥 Export Your Data
You can export your entire vault at any time:
• A CSV file most password managers can import
• A 1PUX file with everything, attachments and passkeys included
• Straight into another app, on iOS 26 and macOS 26
• A printed Emergency Kit with your primary password and Secret Key, and with Premium, every password and note
Your data is never locked in. Leave ZZPass anytime with your complete password archive.
🗑️ Delete Your Account
Settings → Account → Delete Account
This immediately and permanently deletes:
• Your account, passwords and notes, from this and every linked device and from your iCloud
• Shared groups you own, for everyone in them
• Your Emergency Access and TimeCapsule deposits on our escrow server
Cancel a Premium subscription separately in your Apple account settings.
This action cannot be undone. Export your data first if you want to keep a copy.
⚙️ Privacy Controls
You control your privacy:
• Sign out remote devices
• Change your primary password anytime
• Use Face ID/Touch ID instead of typing passwords
• Set auto-lock timeout
Data Retention
Active accounts: Your encrypted vault and account records live in your own iCloud (and on your devices) for as long as you keep them. There is no ZZPass-side copy.
Deleted accounts: When you delete your account, ZZPass removes it from your iCloud and revokes your escrow deposits. We don't keep backups.
Our own servers: escrow deposits persist until you revoke them (released keys must stay retrievable for your recipients); escrow notification emails are deleted once a deposit can no longer be denied; escrow audit-log entries are deleted after 180 days; telemetry aggregates carry no identifier that could ever be tied back to you.
Legal Disclosures
What we could be compelled to share: ZZPass runs no account server: your account records live in your own iCloud, which we cannot query. The only things our own systems hold, and therefore the only things any legal process could obtain from us, are:
• Encrypted escrow deposits (ciphertext we cannot decrypt) and their timing metadata
• For emergency access: the notification email address on a still-deniable deposit, and up to 180 days of access-event audit log including requesting IP addresses
• Anonymous telemetry aggregates that map to no person
• Ordinary email correspondence if you have written to us
What we cannot share: Because of our zero-knowledge architecture, we cannot provide:
• Your passwords or vault contents (we don't have access)
• Your primary password (we don't store it)
• Which websites you use or when you log in (we don't collect this)
Transparency: If we receive a valid legal request, we will tell the people affected where we can reach them and the law allows. We will challenge overly broad or improper requests.
Children's Privacy
ZZPass is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in the EU). We don't knowingly collect information from children. If you're a parent and believe your child has provided us with personal information, contact us at privacy@zzpass.com and we'll delete it immediately.
International Data Transfers
Location: ZZPass is made by Jonny Rein Eriksen in Norway, which has strong data protection laws comparable to the EU's GDPR.
iCloud storage: Your encrypted vault may be stored in Apple's iCloud data centers located in various countries. Apple is responsible for compliance with data protection regulations. Your data is encrypted before leaving your device, so location of storage doesn't affect security.
GDPR compliance: If you're in the EU/EEA, you have additional rights under GDPR including data portability, right to be forgotten, and right to access your data. Contact privacy@zzpass.com to exercise these rights.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements.
How we'll notify you:
• Material changes will be described in the app's release notes before they take effect
• The "Last updated" date at the top will be updated
• We don't keep a contact address for you (an Emergency Access warning address is only used for deny links), so we can't email you about changes. Check this page
Your continued use: By continuing to use ZZPass after changes become effective, you accept the updated Privacy Policy. If you don't agree with changes, you can export your data and delete your account.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data:
Email: privacy@zzpass.com
Developer: Jonny Rein Eriksen
Based in: Norway
In-App: Settings → Help
Summary - What Makes ZZPass Different
We can't read your vault, and we built it that way on purpose.
✓ We can't tie anything you do to you
✓ We don't sell your data
✓ No ads and no third-party analytics
✓ We can't decrypt your vault
✓ We can't see your passwords
✓ We can't recover your primary password
Your security and privacy aren't features we added. They're the reason ZZPass exists.