Walkthrough: Back up & restore your data

Your care data lives on your device, not on a company server. That keeps it private, and it also means a backup is yours to make and keep. A CareHaven backup is a single encrypted file. Nothing inside it can be read without the password you set, not even by us.

This walkthrough shows you how to let backups happen on their own, how to make one by hand before a big change, how to bring everything back on a new device, and how to keep the one thing that matters most safe: your backup password. Available

Tip: A backup is only as good as the password you can still remember. There is no way to recover a backup if the password is lost. Write it down somewhere safe before you go any further.

Before you start: set your backup password

Every backup is locked with a password you choose. You set it once, and CareHaven uses it each time it creates or restores a backup.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Security, then Backup Password.
3. Tap Set, type a password you will remember, and save it.

The password is held securely on your device. It is never sent anywhere, and we cannot see it or reset it. If you ever lose it, the backups locked with it cannot be opened.

Keep the password somewhere outside the app, in a place you trust. A password manager, a note in a locked drawer, or with a co-caregiver who will be there in an emergency. If you lose the device and the password at the same time, the backup cannot help you.

Let backups happen automatically

CareHaven can keep a fresh backup for you on a schedule, so you do not have to remember.

1. Open Settings and go to your backup settings.
2. Turn on automatic backups and choose where they should be saved (for example, iCloud Drive, Files, or another folder you trust).
3. CareHaven writes a new encrypted backup on its schedule, locked with your backup password.

A new backup also gets written quietly when you open the app, so a recent copy is usually waiting without you doing anything. If you have not made a backup in a while, the Home screen gently reminds you with a small banner. Available

Tip: Point automatic backups at cloud storage you can reach from any device. That way, if your phone is lost or broken, your most recent backup is already somewhere you can get to it.

Make a backup by hand

It is worth making one yourself before anything big: a new phone, a major iOS update, or any change you might want to undo later.

1. Open Settings and find Privacy & Data (or your backup settings).
2. Tap Create Encrypted Backup (also called Export).
3. Enter your backup password when asked.
4. CareHaven builds a single encrypted file and opens the standard iOS share sheet.
5. Send the file wherever you want it: save it to iCloud Drive or Files, email it to yourself, AirDrop it to your Mac, or hand it to a co-caregiver.

The file holds everything for every person you care for, all of it scrambled. Without the password, it is unreadable.

Tip: Keep more than one copy in more than one place. One in cloud storage and one somewhere physical (like an external drive plugged in through Files) means a single mishap never wipes you out.

Restore on a new device

Your backups move freely between iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Setting up a new device, or recovering after a reset, is the same simple flow.

1. Install CareHaven on the new device.
2. Get your backup file onto that device (download it from cloud storage, or open the email or message you sent it in).
3. Open Settings and tap Restore Backup (or open the backup file directly, which hands it to CareHaven for you).
4. Choose your backup file.
5. Enter your backup password.
6. CareHaven unlocks the file and brings everything back: people, daily logs, medical records, contacts, and the rest.

When the restore finishes, you will see a quick confirmation of what came in, so you can be sure it all arrived.

If you already have some data on the new device, CareHaven asks whether to combine the two or replace what is there. Changed your mind right after a restore? There is a short window to undo it, so a restore is never a one-way door.

If the password is the problem

The most common backup trouble is a forgotten password, because the password is the only key.

• We cannot recover, reset, or bypass a backup password. This is the same protection that keeps a thief from reading your file.
• If a restore says the password is wrong, check for typos and that you are using the password from when that file was made (not a newer one, if you changed it).
• Going forward, store the password the moment you set it, and update your saved copy whenever you change it.

More help with backups and other snags lives in Troubleshooting.

Related

• Privacy & security (in depth) — how your data stays on your device and what encryption protects
• Sharing care with others (sync) — keeping data current across your own devices and with co-caregivers
• Across your Apple devices — using CareHaven on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
• Setting up for the first time — getting started on a new device