A pattern is a password you draw. On a 5x5 grid of dots, you connect at least six of them in a shape you will remember.
Why a pattern
You will open the vault many times a day. A pattern takes one second and one hand, and it is hard to shoulder-surf because your finger moves fast. A 5x5 grid has far more possible patterns than the 3x3 grid Android uses for the lock screen.
How Vaultpod turns a pattern into a key
The pattern is stretched through a slow computation (about half a second per try) and mixed with a secret that lives only in this phone’s Keychain. That means a copy of the app’s files cannot be attacked offline by trying patterns: the attacker would also need the phone’s secret.
How long should it be?
Six dots is the minimum. Nine or more, with a couple of turns, is strong. Avoid the obvious: letters, a border, a straight line and back.
If you forget it
Nobody can reset a pattern, including us. That is the whole point. The recovery phrase, ten words shown when you set up the vault, opens it on any phone. Write it down.