I accidentally uninstalled a calculator vault app from the Play Store that I used to store my data. Now, I have the files still saved, but I'm unable to decrypt them. I tried using ChatGPT for help, but it only suggested renaming the files and checking the 'magic number', neither of which worked. The file names look like this: "e-9cc7eef4-ee7c-481d-9ca6-1163b057bd03+1". My files contain hair fall progress photos and videos while driving with my girlfriend, so they are important to me. Is there any way I can retrieve my data?
3 Answers
It sounds like you're running into a common issue with vault apps. When you uninstall the app, the encryption keys usually get deleted, making it really tough to recover the encrypted data. Your best bet is to reinstall the same app and see if it can recognize your previous files. However, this only works if the app stored its keys in a place that's still accessible. If not, recovery might not be feasible since brute-forcing encryption isn't practical for most consumer apps.
Have you tried just reinstalling the app? If you enter your original passphrase after reinstalling, it might let you access your files again. Just make sure you install the exact same version of the app to maximize your chances of success.
Just a heads up, relying on AI like GPT for technical fixes can be hit or miss. Sometimes it just gives suggestions that don't really apply, so always take those with a grain of salt.
Thanks for being honest about the recovery chances!