Add peace of mind with Emergency Access

The Bitwarden Emergency Access feature offers a new way to create a digital legacy and make your secure data available to those who may need it under critical circumstances. Bitwarden users with Premium features can now invite others to access their Bitwarden Vault in the case where the inviting user can no longer log in or provide access to that data. The inviting users, known as “grantors,” are able to specify emergency contacts, known as “grantees,” that can request access to the grantor’s Vault data. Please note that those receiving invites, "grantees", do not need Premium access.

The year 2020 taught us that many unexpected things can happen – and quickly. The Emergency Access feature removes the concern about how to gain access to important digital items for family, friends, colleagues, and caretakers under certain circumstances.

Emergency contacts can be granted the option to take over Vault data or have view-only access. Viewing the data allows an emergency contact to reference the information within the Web Vault. Vault takeover allows the user to reset the Master Password of the grantor, even if two-step login is enabled, as well as access and manage the Vault data completely.

Adding emergency contacts requires the selection of a delay period. During this time, the grantee can refuse the request for Vault access, offering flexibility. Some may need access more quickly, and some may need it in a worst-case scenario, after a longer period of time.

Bitwarden remains laser-focused on security, including for digital legacy features that need to allow flexible data access. Decryption keys are never stored with the Bitwarden service, and all sensitive data is transmitted in an encrypted state between the user requesting and the user providing access to a Vault.

Emergency Access is available to all Premium, Family, Teams, and Enterprise users. Start exploring Emergency Access along with other great features in the platform by selecting the plan that’s right for you or your business.

To learn more about enabling and configuring Emergency Access, please check out our help article here.