Someone is standing over you and says: open it. A duress pattern is the pattern you draw in that moment.
What happens
Drawing the duress pattern replaces the secret that every pattern on this phone is mixed with. Instantly, every pattern, including the real ones and the duress pattern itself, opens an empty vault. There is nothing to show. The app looks like it did on first launch.
What does not happen
The encrypted files are not deleted and the backup is untouched. Each vault’s recovery phrase still opens it, on this phone or any other. So the duress pattern costs you nothing except having to type the phrase later.
How to set it
Security, Set duress pattern. It must be a pattern that does not already open a vault. It is a Pro feature in Vaultpod.
Compared with a decoy vault
A decoy vault shows something harmless. A duress pattern shows nothing at all, everywhere. Use the decoy when you need to hand over something; use duress when you need everything gone.