MyLifeDock user guide

Everything you need to set up your vault, add your family's records and keep them safe. It takes about five minutes to get started.

1. Getting started

1. Install the app on Windows (and soon Android or iPhone) from the download page.
2. Enter your name and accept the terms. Your name is only shown inside the app.
3. Choose a Master Passphrase. Use a sentence you can remember, at least 12 characters. It unlocks your vault every time.
4. Save your Recovery Key. The app shows a 64-character key once. Write it down or print it and keep it somewhere safe, away from your phone.
5. Start adding records. Tap + Add in any section.

Already used MyLifeDock on another device? Choose Restore Existing Vault on the first screen and pick your Google Drive backup or .mldv backup file (see Backup & restore).

2. Finding your way

The sidebar (the ☰ menu on phones) has three groups:

At the bottom are Settings & Backup, Help & Feedback and Lock Vault. The Overview shows how many items you have, what is expiring in the next 30 days and quick buttons to add records.

3. Documents

For Aadhaar, PAN, passports, licences, certificates, bills and any other paper.

• Tap + Add Document, give it a title and category, and optionally an issuer, issue date and expiry date.
• Attach a photo or PDF. Snap Invoice uses the camera and reads dates and names from the picture for you, on your device.
• Choose who it belongs to if you have family members.
• If you set an expiry date, a reminder is created 30 days before it.

Insurance policies have their own section; use Insurance for them.

4. Products & warranties

For phones, appliances, electronics and furniture.

• Add the product with brand, model, serial number, purchase date and price, and attach the invoice.
• Open a product to add its warranty, extended warranty or AMC, with start and end dates. You are reminded before each one ends.

5. Insurance

Every policy in one list: health, life, vehicle, home, travel and device insurance.

• Choose the policy type, insurer, policy number and dates, and attach the policy document.
• Use Covers to link the policy to a vehicle, property or product. The vehicle or property then shows its insurance too.
• Policies due for renewal are marked RENEW SOON; expired ones EXPIRED.

6. Money

Two tabs:

• Accounts: bank accounts, credit and debit cards, investments and loans. Only the last 4 digits of a number are stored, never the full number.
• Subscriptions: Netflix, gym, phone plans and other recurring bills, each in its own currency. You get a reminder three days before the next charge, and the totals show your monthly and yearly spend.

7. Vehicles & property

Cars and bikes (registration, chassis number, purchase details) and homes, land and rentals, with documents such as RC, sale deeds and tax receipts attached.

8. Medical & health

• Add prescriptions and lab reports with date, department, doctor or clinic, diagnosis and medicines.
• Take a photo of a prescription or report and the app fills in what it can read.
• Set a follow-up date to get a reminder.
• Use the family switcher to see one person's records or everyone's.

9. Family members

Add children, a spouse or parents in Settings & Backup › Family, or from the family switcher in Documents, Medical or the Emergency Kit. Each person can have their own documents, medical records and emergency kit. Their health details (blood group, allergies, doctor) are entered once and used everywhere.

10. Secrets

For PINs, passwords, lock combinations and crypto recovery phrases.

• Values stay hidden until you tap Reveal, and hide again after 30 seconds.
• Copy puts the value on the clipboard and clears it after 30 seconds.

11. Emergency kit

Fill in blood group, allergies, critical medicines, organ donor status, emergency contacts, doctor and where important papers are kept, for each family member. Export to print saves a page your family or a doctor can open and print.

12. Reminders

Reminders are created automatically from document expiry dates, warranties and AMCs, insurance renewals, subscriptions and medical follow-ups. You can also add your own. Allow notifications when asked so the app can alert you even when it is closed (on phones).

13. Search

Use the search bar at the top of the screen (the 🔍 button on phones). It searches every section and every family member. Tap a result to open that exact record. Secret values are never searched, only their titles.

14. Backup & restore

Your vault lives only on your device. Uninstalling the app deletes it, so keep a recent backup.

Google Drive

1. Open Settings & Backup › Backup & Sync and tap Backup to Google Drive.
2. Sign in with Google and allow access to the app's own Drive folder. (On Windows, sign-in opens in your browser.)
3. The backup is encrypted before it leaves your device. Google cannot read it.

Backup file

Export File saves an encrypted .mldv file you can keep on a USB drive or anywhere you like. Import File restores it.

Moving to a new phone or PC

1. On the old device, make a Google Drive backup or export a backup file.
2. Install MyLifeDock on the new device and choose Restore Existing Vault.
3. Pick the backup and enter your Master Passphrase (or Recovery Key).

15. Security settings

• Fingerprint / Face ID (Android and iPhone): turn on in Security to unlock without typing your passphrase.
• Inactivity auto-lock: choose 1 to 60 minutes.
• Lock on app switch: locks the vault whenever you leave the app. Taking a photo, picking a file or sharing from inside the app does not lock it.
• After several wrong passphrases, the app makes you wait before trying again.

16. Free and Pro

The free vault holds up to 10 items in total and has every feature. Pro removes the limit.

Store subscriptions renew automatically; cancel them in your Google Play or App Store account at least 24 hours before renewal.

17. Help & troubleshooting

Still stuck? Open Help & Feedback in the app to email us, or write to mylifedock@gmail.com. Never send your passphrase, recovery key or secrets to anyone, including us.