What is a duress password?

A second password that unlocks a different, harmless set of data. It exists for situations where refusing to unlock is not an option: a border crossing, a demand from someone with power over you, a moment where the safest answer is to appear to comply.

Can someone tell that a decoy password was used?

Not from the app. Dash opens normally and shows the decoy notes as if they were everything. There is no error, no warning and no visible second vault. What it cannot do is defeat someone who already knows how much material to expect, or who examines the device forensically over a long period.

Can I get my real data back afterwards?

Yes. Entering the real password opens the real notes as usual. Using the duress password does not delete anything or change your data; it simply shows a different set.

How does the duress password work with app lock?

It is part of app lock. You set the real master password first, then a separate duress password. Either unlocks the app; which set of notes appears depends on which one you typed.

Is a duress password legal?

It depends entirely on where you are and what is being asked. In some jurisdictions, giving an incomplete response to a lawful order carries serious consequences of its own. This is a technical feature, not legal advice; if you are in a situation where you might use it, talk to a lawyer in that jurisdiction first.

Dash Notes

Free on iPhone

Guide

Duress Passwords, and When They Help

Encryption protects notes from people who cannot make you open them. A duress password is for the situation where someone can.

Get Dash for Mac Read on

Updated September 2026 · Dash team

Every encrypted app has the same blind spot. The maths is excellent against an attacker with your laptop and no access to you. It does nothing at all against an attacker who has both, and who can simply insist that you type the password.

A duress password, sometimes called a decoy or panic password, is the standard answer: a second password that opens something plausible and harmless. This guide covers how it works, how to set one up in Dash, and, importantly, when it is the wrong tool.

How it works

You set two passwords. The real one opens your notes. The duress one opens a separate set that you have prepared in advance, and the app behaves completely normally either way: same screen, same speed, no warning, no hint that a second vault exists.

The security property is not secrecy of the mechanism, which is documented on this page. It is that someone looking at the unlocked app has no way to tell whether they are seeing everything.

Setting one up in Dash

Turn on app lock in Settings and set your real master password.
Add a duress password. It must be different, and it should be as memorable under stress as the real one. Something you can type while frightened.
Prepare the decoy. Unlock with the duress password and write real-looking notes: a shopping list, some work notes, a couple of half-finished ideas. An empty decoy is worse than none, because an empty notes app is exactly what a hidden vault looks like.
Rehearse. Use the duress password occasionally so that entering it does not require thought.

The decoy is the whole feature

A convincing decoy is mundane and lived-in. Ten to thirty notes, written over time, on ordinary subjects: recipes, meeting notes, a packing list, a draft message to a landlord. Dates should be spread out rather than all from one afternoon.

What it should not contain: nothing at all, obviously fake filler, or anything that hints at a second set. The goal is that the search stops because it has found what it expected.

When this is the wrong tool

A duress password helps against a quick, informal inspection. It is much weaker against someone who knows what to look for, has forensic tools, or already knows roughly what material you hold. Disk-level artefacts, file sizes and access patterns can all suggest more data exists.

It also carries a real risk that is not technical. In some jurisdictions, providing a misleading response to a lawful order is itself a serious offence, and the consequences can be worse than the disclosure you were avoiding. If you might genuinely face that situation, the useful step is advice from a lawyer where you are, not a feature toggle. For high-risk work, not carrying the data across the border at all beats any password scheme.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

App lockReal encryption behind Touch ID and Face ID, with auto-lock timers.Secure notes for journalistsNotes that protect the people in them, and what encryption cannot do.Self-destructing notesNotes that delete themselves when a timer runs out.

A second password for the day you need one.

$14.99 once on Mac. Free on iPhone.

Get Dash for Mac App Store