---
title: "What Is Duress password on iPhone? Meaning and Settings"
description: "A duress password is a second code that looks like it unlocks normally but triggers a safety action instead, such as opening a decoy or wiping data."
url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/glossary/duress-password
lang: en-gb
published: 2026-10-31
updated: 2026-10-31
author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team"
publisher: VaultForYou
---

# What is Duress password?

Published 2026-10-31 - Updated 2026-10-31 - By VaultForYou Editorial Team

## Quick answer

A duress password is a second code you can enter when forced to unlock something. It appears to work normally but triggers a protective action instead, such as opening a decoy or erasing the real data.

VaultForYou calls it a duress pattern: drawing it opens a decoy vault, and you can choose whether it also wipes your real vaults. Wiping is off by default because it cannot be undone.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a duress password used for?

It protects you when someone forces you to unlock a device or app. Entering the duress code instead of the real one shows harmless content or erases sensitive data, while appearing to the other person as a normal unlock.

## Guides that use this term

- [What is a duress password? How decoy vaults work on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/blog/decoy-vault-iphone)

## Related terms

- [Decoy vault](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/glossary/decoy-vault)

## Browse

- [All glossary terms](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/glossary)

---

Our guides are written and fact-checked by the VaultForYou team against Apple's own documentation. We make VaultForYou, a private vault app for iPhone. Download on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultforyou/id0000000000