Support.
Getting started, troubleshooting, and how QuorumPony behaves. For anything not covered here, send an email.
Quickstart
01 · Get the app
QuorumPony is free on the App Store for iPhone.
02 · Split a secret
Enter the text or pick the key file you want to protect, choose how many cards to make and how many it takes to recover, and QuorumPony creates the set.
03 · Print and distribute
Export the cards to a PDF, print them, and store them in separate places or hand them to people you trust. Keep them far enough apart that no single event takes out the threshold.
04 · Recover from a few
When you need the secret back, gather enough cards, scan each one's QR code or type its printed code, and QuorumPony rebuilds the original.
05 · Check a card
Confirm a stored card is intact and which backup it belongs to, without rebuilding the secret. Useful for periodic checks that your backup is still good.
Frequently asked
How many cards should I make, and how many to require?
Pick a total and a threshold. A common choice is 3 of 5: five cards, any three recover it. Make the total large enough that ordinary loss does not drop you below the threshold, and set the threshold high enough that no group you would not trust can reach it on its own.
What happens if I lose a card?
As long as the threshold number remain, recovery works normally. With a 3 of 5 split you can lose up to two cards. A single card reveals nothing.
Can a single card leak my secret?
No. Below the threshold the cards carry no information about the secret in the strict, mathematical sense: every possible secret is equally consistent with what you hold. This is the property that makes Shamir Secret Sharing worth using.
Is my secret ever sent anywhere?
No. QuorumPony is fully offline. Everything happens on your device, nothing is uploaded, and no copy is kept.
What can I protect with it?
Anything you cannot afford to lose but should not keep in one place: a wallet seed phrase or private key, a PGP, SSH, or age private key, password-manager recovery codes, or the master key behind your other backups.
Troubleshooting
Recovery says I don't have enough cards
You need at least the threshold number from the same split. Check that the cards you are using belong to the same backup, use Check a card to confirm which backup each one is from, and gather more until you reach the threshold.
A card's QR code won't scan
Make sure the whole code is in frame and well lit; a creased or faded print can be hard to read. Every card also has a printed code you can type in by hand as a fallback.
Cards from different backups got mixed up
Cards only combine with others from the same split. Use Check a card to see which backup each one belongs to, then group them before recovering.
I'm not sure my stored cards are still good
Use Check a card on each one. It confirms the card is intact and which backup it belongs to, without rebuilding or revealing the secret, so you can verify a backup periodically without exposing it.
Useful links
Contact
QuorumPony is built by one person. Questions, bug reports, and feedback all go to the same inbox: NorseHorse@norsehor.se. For security issues, encrypt with the PGP key.
Email NorseHorse directly at NorseHorse@norsehor.se. Responses are usually within a day or two.