# I lost my recovery phrase. Can my backups still help me? No, not if nobody can sign you in again. An encrypted backup opens only with your phrase key, so with self-custody and no phrase, nobody can open it, and we cannot either. If you let us store your key when you signed up with Google, Apple or GitHub, sign in with that login, and your backups open as before ([lost phrase](https://privacynotes.app/help/lost-phrase)). A "Everything, not encrypted (.zip)" made by hand is the one file that restores into a new account, because it needs no phrase. The best fix costs ten seconds: keep your recovery phrase in a password manager today. --- Source: https://privacynotes.app/help/backup-lost-phrase