FAQ
Questions about Argoned and AI agents
Plain answers first, technical detail where it helps. 47 answers about sealed sharing with AI agents and people, recovery, your data, the limits of Argoned and encryption.
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Sharing
Sharing with AI agents and people
How do I share one password without sharing my whole vault?
Share just that one field as a sealed link. Unlock your vault, open the item and tap Share on a sensitive field, such as a password or API key. Your browser encrypts that one value and gives you a sealed link (an encrypted link that opens once) plus a separate access code that unlocks it.
Send the link and the code by different routes. For an AI agent, paste only the link into the chat and type the code yourself.
What can I share?
You can share one field at a time: password, secret, PIN, API key, token, passphrase, private key and SSH key fields, up to 4 KB of text. The rest of the item stays in your vault.
How does someone open a sealed link?
The person or agent who receives a sealed link opens it in any browser, enters the access code and chooses Reveal. They do not need an Argoned account, and the value is decrypted in their own browser tab.
Loading the page alone does not use up the sealed link.
How long does a sealed link work, and how many times?
A sealed link works for the time you choose: 1 hour, 24 hours, 48 hours or 7 days. The default is 48 hours. Each sealed link opens once, then stops working.
What stops someone else opening the link?
The access code. A sealed link alone opens nothing: it also needs a separate access code (four groups of four characters). Each link opens once, expires at the time you chose, and opening attempts are rate-limited.
Can I take access back?
Yes, until the sealed link is opened. Cancel it in your vault under Session → Shared links.
Once a credential has been opened, the safe step is to change the password, so do that after important tasks.
Can Argoned read what I shared?
No. Our server stores the encrypted value and metadata such as the expiry, how many times it may be opened and has been opened, and an optional label you type. Do not put secrets in the label.
If you copy the link and the code yourself, the code never reaches us. The optional Send by email button is different: it sends the link and the code together in one email through our server, so use it only for low-risk items and never for an AI agent.
Is sealed sharing included on Free?
Yes. Sealed sharing is included on both Free and Pro, and sealed links do not count towards your vault items. The plans differ only in how many items you can keep and in bulk import.
AI agents
AI agents
Can I give ChatGPT or Claude a password without pasting it?
Yes. Send the password as a sealed link from your Argoned vault. The chat holds only the link, and you type the access code yourself when the agent reaches the Argoned page.
If your agent offers its own secure sign-in, such as ChatGPT’s sign-in form or 1Password for Claude, that keeps the password away from the model and is a good choice when it is available to you.
Does my AI agent see the password?
Yes, at the moment it is opened. Today a sealed credential is opened on the Argoned page your agent is viewing, so a browser agent can read it then.
The password is never in plain text in your chat, your email or on our servers, as long as you keep the access code out of the chat.
What does “sealed” mean?
Sealed means encrypted in your browser before it leaves your device. Only encrypted data travels and is stored, and it is opened only where the access code is typed in.
Does the agent need an Argoned account?
No. The agent or person you send it to opens the sealed link in any browser, without an account. Only the sender needs an Argoned vault.
Which agents does it work with?
Sealed links work with any agent that can open a web page and lets you type into it, such as a browser agent where you can take over for one step.
We have not published a tested list yet, so try it once with a low-risk login before you rely on it.
Can I use it with n8n, an MCP config or a script?
Not directly. Today a sealed link is opened in a web browser, so a tool such as n8n, an MCP config (the file that connects an AI app to its tools) or a script cannot open it for you.
Open the link yourself, then save the value in that tool’s own credential store or in an environment variable (a named setting a program reads when it runs). That way it never sits in a chat or an email.
How is this different from 1Password for Claude?
1Password for Claude fills your own saved logins for Claude in Chrome, so Claude does not see the password. As of October 2026 it is a beta for Mac, paid Claude plans and 1Password subscribers. If that setup fits you, it exposes less than a sealed link.
Argoned works from any browser and sends one credential to any agent or person, and the receiver needs no account.
Read the full comparison of password managers for AI agents →
How is this different from Proton Pass access tokens?
Proton Pass access tokens give an agent read-only access to whole vaults you choose. A token lasts from one hour to one year, each access is logged with its stated reason, and the feature is for Proton paid plans.
Argoned sends exactly one credential, sealed, and the sealed link opens once.
Read the full comparison of password managers for AI agents →
Basics
Basics
What is Argoned in one sentence?
Argoned is a browser-encrypted vault that lets you share logins and API keys with AI agents and people, sealed, without pasting them into a chat. It is designed so that we never need your passwords in readable form.
Why is my login password not the same as my vault unlock?
They do different jobs. Your login password proves who you are to the service. Your vault secret creates the keys that open your vault. Keeping them apart means that someone with a stolen session cookie, or someone who changes your login password, still does not have your vault secret.
Can you reset my vault secret if I forget it?
No. We cannot reset your vault secret in a way that decrypts your existing data, and that is intentional. Use your recovery phrase if you set one up; if every way to unlock is lost, the vault stays unreadable, including to us.
Is this the same as “encrypted at rest”?
No. Encryption at rest protects stored disks. Argoned assumes the application and database could be copied, so what leaves your device is already ciphertext (encrypted data) that we cannot decrypt without your vault secret.
Is Argoned independently audited?
Not yet. No independent security audit of Argoned has been done.
The code is public under the MIT licence, and the Security page lists what our servers can and cannot see. We will publish a summary there if and when an audit is done.
Do you ever receive my vault secret or recovery phrase?
Yes, once each, so we can email you a backup copy. When you finish setup, your browser sends your vault secret to our server and we email it to you. When you save recovery, the same happens with your recovery phrase.
We do not store either one, but each passes through our server and our email provider and then sits in your inbox. Store both secrets somewhere safe, then delete those emails, especially from a shared inbox.
Recovery
Recovery and secrets
What happens during recovery?
A separate recovery phrase opens the same vault key, so you can get back in when your vault secret fails. It works only if you set up recovery beforehand. Our server stores an encrypted recovery artifact, not your recovery phrase.
Should I reuse the same secret for unlock and recovery?
No. Your recovery phrase is meant to be an independent lock. Using the same secret for both turns two separate locks into one target for guessing.
What happens if I change my vault secret?
Your browser derives a new unlock key from the new vault secret. If the vault key is replaced as well, your existing items have to be re-encrypted while the vault is unlocked in your browser; our server cannot do that for you. If you are unsure, export your vault first.
What if I lose both my vault secret and my recovery phrase?
If you lose both your vault secret and your recovery phrase, nobody can read the vault, including us. Backups of ciphertext do not help without the keys. That limit is intentional.
What is the account-only recovery reset?
The account-only recovery reset gets you back into your account when you have lost every way to unlock your vault, but it deletes the vault. It deletes your encrypted vault items, vault profile and recovery records and signs out every session. It never decrypts anything.
Your data
Hosting, data and GDPR
Where is data hosted?
Argoned’s data is hosted on Amazon Web Services. The managed service at vault.argoned.com is run by Switchcodes Ltd in the United Kingdom and is offered in any country. If you host your own copy from the public code, it runs wherever you put it.
What can Argoned see?
Argoned can see account details such as your email, session and security records and billing status, plus your vault as ciphertext with its encrypted keys.
We never receive item plaintext, and we do not store your vault secret; it passes through our server once, for the setup email. Our logs are built not to capture vault content.
Can I export or delete my data?
Yes. To export, unlock your vault, go to Account → Erase data and download the JSON export. The export is readable, so store it somewhere safe.
To delete your account, go to Account → Erase data → Delete account and type DELETE. Deleted data can remain in backups for a short time, until those backups expire, as the Privacy policy explains.
Who is the data controller for GDPR?
Switchcodes Ltd (UK) is the data controller for the managed service at vault.argoned.com. If you host your own copy, you are the controller for that copy.
Does GDPR require you to decrypt my vault on request?
No. GDPR cannot make us produce plaintext we do not have. Access and erasure requests cover the personal data we hold; for an encrypted vault, the practical answer is export or deletion, not decryption.
Devices
Backups, devices and legal requests
Should I back up my vault?
Yes. Download the emergency kit from Settings → Recovery and keep it offline, because sync is not a backup of your recovery material.
For a copy of your items, download the JSON export from Account → Erase data. It is readable, so store it somewhere safe.
Can I use the same vault on multiple devices?
Yes. Sign in to Argoned on any browser and unlock with your vault secret. Your keys are never sent between devices unlocked. The item limit is the same on every device: up to 8 items on Free and 512 on Pro.
What happens if you are served a subpoena?
If we are served a subpoena, we may be legally required to hand over what we hold: account details and encrypted data. We cannot hand over readable vault contents, because we do not have the keys. This is not legal advice.
Limits
Safety and limits
What can Argoned not protect against?
Malware, phishing and a weak vault secret. Argoned keeps item contents encrypted in the browser, but any of these can still put them at risk.
When you compare Argoned with another vault, look at how each one handles encryption, recovery and what its servers can see.
What if someone steals my session cookie?
Someone with your session cookie may act as you at the account level, but opening the vault still needs your vault secret in the browser.
Cookies that page scripts cannot read (HttpOnly), protection against cross-site request forgery (CSRF), short sessions and a clean device all help.
What about quantum computers?
AES-256 is expected to hold up well against known quantum attacks. For most people, the practical risks today are device security and password habits. Post-quantum migration is a roadmap topic for any long-lived crypto product.
Compared
Compared with other approaches
How is this different from a typical cloud password manager?
Argoned is built so that routine server operation never needs to decrypt your vault, while some products hold server-side keys for certain features. Threat models differ by vendor, so compare how each one handles keys and recovery.
Is zero-knowledge a marketing term?
Zero-knowledge is often stretched as a marketing term. For Argoned it means we do not rely on seeing item plaintext or your vault secret to run sync and storage. It does not mean immune to malware, anonymous or beyond the reach of the law.
What does zero-knowledge mean here, technically?
Under normal operation, Argoned’s service stores ciphertext, wrapped keys, key-derivation settings and salts, and the non-secret metadata the app needs. It does not need your vault secret, your raw vault key or item plaintext to store or sync your vault.
In cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs are a specific protocol idea. Password managers use the phrase more loosely, to describe who holds the data and the keys.
The server still sees encrypted blobs, their sizes, traffic patterns and account identifiers, and your device still matters: malware or a compromised browser can read what you can read.
Why might Argoned feel less convenient than some apps?
Argoned can feel slower because strong key derivation takes time, and separate login and unlock steps add friction. Those trade-offs keep a clear line between your account and your vault.
Encryption
Encryption, under the hood
How strong is the encryption?
Argoned uses AES-256-GCM (authenticated encryption) with 256-bit keys for vault items and keys, and Argon2id to turn your vault secret into the unlock key. Strength still depends on your secret and on a clean device: no algorithm protects a password typed into malware.
Where does encryption run?
Encryption runs in your browser. Our service stores encrypted data and the metadata needed to sync, not your vault secret or raw vault key.
What are UK, VK and DEK?
They are the three kinds of key in an Argoned vault. The unlock key (UK) is derived from your vault secret with Argon2id and wraps the vault key.
The vault key (VK) is a random AES key, stored wrapped and held in memory only while the vault is unlocked.
Each item has its own data encryption key (DEK), wrapped by the vault key. One item’s key does not open any other item.
Why Argon2id?
Argon2id is memory-hard, so each guess costs an attacker far more than a fast hash would. Unlocking can take a noticeable moment; that is the cost working as intended.
What is a “nonce” or “tag”?
A nonce is a value used once for each encryption, and a tag proves the data was not changed. AES-GCM uses both, so if ciphertext is tampered with, decryption fails loudly instead of returning garbage.
More help
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