# How do I restore a backup?

Open Settings > Import & Export > Restore and pick the format you have. "Full backup (.zip)" takes the complete export: notes, journals, vault items, tasks, images, audio, and files. "Encrypted backup (.pnbackup)" takes the text-only encrypted export. Your file is read and decrypted on your device, and restoring is free on every tier.

Everything arrives as new items and nothing you already have is overwritten, so restoring the same file twice leaves you with two copies of every note. There is no automatic dedupe yet. A .pnbackup restores only into the account that created it, because it is locked to that phrase key, while a .zip restores into any vault. That is why the .zip is the one to keep ([which backup to make](https://privacynotes.app/help/backup-strategy/)).

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Source: https://privacynotes.app/help/restore-backup