Local Sync
Local Sync keeps your own devices - for example your Mac and your iPhone - in step over your local Wi-Fi network, so an item you add on one device shows up on the other. No cloud server is ever involved.
Local Sync works only when your devices are connected to the same local Wi-Fi / LAN network and both are unlocked (the app open and signed in). Nothing is ever sent to the internet or stored on LockYit's servers, and what they exchange is end-to-end encrypted (RSA-2048 + AES-256-GCM). Your master password and vault key are never sent.
Setting up sync between your own devices
You pair your devices once. After that, they recognise each other automatically whenever they're on the same network and unlocked.
- Make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi / local network and have the LockYit app open and unlocked.
- On both devices, open the Local Sync screen and turn it on with Enable Local Sync.
- In the My Devices section, tap Add device. The devices find each other automatically on the network.
- On one device, choose the other from the discovered list and start pairing.
- A 6-digit code appears on the first device - enter it on the second to confirm. The code only verifies the pairing locally; it is never sent over the network.
Once paired, the devices appear in each other's My Devices list. Because sync is between your own devices, both must be signed in to the same LockYit account.
Setting up multiple devices
You can sync as many of your own devices as you like - for example a phone, a tablet, and a laptop - so the same vault is available everywhere. They all sign in to the same LockYit account.
You don't have to pair every device with every other device. Each pairing connects two devices directly, but your vault converges across all of them: a change can travel through a device that's paired with both. So to add a third device, just pair it with one device you've already set up.
- Set up the first two devices as above (for example, Phone ↔ Laptop).
- On the third device (the Tablet), open Local Sync, turn it on, and tap Add device.
- Pick one of your already-paired devices (say the Laptop) and confirm with the 6-digit code.
That's it - the tablet now syncs with the laptop, and a change made on the phone reaches the tablet through the laptop the next time each pair syncs.
All three devices stay in step: an item you add on the phone appears on the
tablet and the laptop, and vice-versa. Each device shows in the others'
My Devices list with its own online/offline status and short #CODE.
Each pairing connects two devices, but the whole vault converges across all of them. Pairing every device with every other (a full mesh) is optional - it just adds resilience, so a change still reaches a device even when the in-between device is offline. With a chain, the relay device needs to come online for changes to pass through it.
How syncing works
- Instant on change - adding, editing, or deleting an item syncs to your online paired devices right away.
- On reconnect / unlock - when a paired device comes back online, or you unlock the app, it syncs immediately.
- Adaptive background check - a periodic safety-net catches anything missed. While there has been recent activity the check runs more frequently; once the session has been idle for a few minutes it relaxes to save battery and reduce background traffic.
- Pull to refresh - pull down on the Local Sync screen to run a full, two-way manual sync with every online paired device and every online sharing contact: your pending changes are pushed out, and each contact pushes its changes back to you. Because it's a manual sync, it goes through even for a device or contact you've set to Auto Sync off.
You can toggle Auto Sync per device, or sync manually:
- Sync all (on the This Device card at the top) syncs with every nearby device and person at once.
- On a single device's row, tap its Sync icon to sync just that device.
- Tap the row itself to open its manage sheet, with Sync, Auto Sync, Full Sync, Repair and Remove Device. Each action says what it does, and one that needs the device online says so while it is offline. Full Sync compares and exchanges everything when two devices look out of step. Repair redoes the pairing with a device that's online (handy after a reinstall).
You can also check sync at a glance without opening Local Sync: see Status at a glance.
Files
Files attached to items sync too. A file's name and details arrive with the item, and the file itself is copied separately afterwards, so a large file doesn't hold up the rest of your vault:
- Until a file has fully arrived, it shows as Not available on this device. It opens normally once the copy finishes.
- An interrupted copy resumes from where it stopped the next time the devices see each other, rather than starting over.
- Renaming a file only sends the new name. The file isn't copied again.
- Each device makes its own photo thumbnails from the file it received.
The "This Device" card
At the top of the screen, the This Device card shows this device's name and short code, its live sync status, and how many devices and people you sync with. It also holds the actions that apply to the whole screen:
- Sync all syncs with every nearby device and person.
- The More options menu (⋮) has Not seeing your devices?, which walks through the network checks for your platform, and Disable Local Sync, which turns the feature off on this device.
The card stays pinned to the top as you scroll, so Sync all is always in reach.
The device list
Devices are sorted by what needs your attention: a device that needs re-pairing comes first, then online devices, then offline ones, most recently active first. A section with more than six entries shows the first five and a Show all link.
Each device shows:
- An online / offline indicator that updates live. A device shows offline whenever it's off the network or locked.
- A short
#CODE(four characters, e.g.#A3F1) derived from the device. This is handy when two devices share the same name - the code is unique to each installation and stays the same everywhere it's shown. - The LockYit version the device is running, e.g.
v1.2.0, next to the code. If the device is offline, it shows the version it was running when it was last seen. Devices on LockYit 1.1 or earlier don't report a version, so none is shown for them. Devices on 1.1 still sync, but don't receive Files; see System Requirements. - A Sync icon to sync just that device. Tap anywhere else on the row to manage it (Auto Sync, Full Sync, Repair, Remove Device).
Stopping sync between devices
You can stop syncing at two levels, depending on whether you want a pause or a clean break.
Pause syncing (keep the pairing)
To stop syncing temporarily without losing the pairing:
- One device at a time - tap the device's row and turn off Auto Sync. The pairing stays, but changes won't flow automatically in either direction: with Auto Sync off for a device, that device's contents and yours stay independent until you sync. This holds even if the other device still has Auto Sync on for you - automatic syncs it starts are declined. You can still trigger a one-off sync from the row (a manual sync always goes through), and turn Auto Sync back on any time.
- This whole device - open the This Device card's menu (⋮) and choose Disable Local Sync. This turns the feature off on this device; it goes offline to your other devices until you enable Local Sync again.
Remove a pairing (a clean break)
To permanently disconnect two specific devices, tap the device's row and choose Remove Device. The pairing is deleted and the two devices no longer sync. For a clean break, do Remove Device on both sides.
Removing a pairing does not delete any items - each device keeps the vault it already has. To sync them again later, pair them again with Add device and the 6-digit code.
If you have several paired devices, removing one pairing only affects those two devices. The others stay paired and keep syncing with each other.
Using a device on its own (standalone)
You don't have to use Local Sync at all. If you simply never enable it (or you Disable Local Sync), the device works completely on its own - your vault lives only on that one device and is never shared with anything else.
With no sync, this device holds the only copy of your vault. If the app is uninstalled, the device is lost, reset, or fails, that data is gone and cannot be recovered - LockYit keeps nothing in the cloud.
Protect yourself with Automatic Backup to a folder outside the app - for example a USB drive, an external disk or a network folder. A backup left only on the same device disappears with it. See Backup & Restore for how to set it up.
Troubleshooting
If two devices aren't syncing, check these in order - most problems are one of the first few.
Linux: allow discovery through the firewall
On Linux, device discovery uses mDNS (the same "Bonjour"/zero-configuration technology Apple and Android devices use to find each other). Most Linux distributions ship with a firewall that blocks mDNS by default, so your devices never see one another even when everything else is set up correctly.
If your Linux device can't find - or can't be found by - your other devices, open the firewall for local sync. You need to allow two things:
- mDNS discovery - UDP port 5353
- The sync connection - TCP ports 18440-18450
These commands change the Linux machine's firewall. Your phone or tablet doesn't need any of this - only the Linux device. If you have more than one Linux device, run them on each one.
Fedora, Red Hat, Rocky, AlmaLinux, openSUSE (firewalld):
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=mdns
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=18440-18450/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint (ufw), if the firewall is enabled:
sudo ufw allow 5353/udp
sudo ufw allow 18440:18450/tcp
You also need the Avahi mDNS service installed and running. The LockYit
.deb and .rpm packages set this up automatically. If you installed the
AppImage or Flatpak, install and enable it yourself:
sudo dnf install -y avahi nss-mdns # Fedora / Red Hat / Rocky
# sudo apt install -y avahi-daemon libnss-mdns # Ubuntu / Debian
sudo systemctl enable --now avahi-daemon
If you installed LockYit from the Snap Store, also grant it permission to use mDNS once:
sudo snap connect lockyit:avahi-control
After opening the firewall, reopen LockYit and pull to refresh - your other devices should now appear.
Windows: allow LockYit through the firewall
The LockYit installer (MSIX) already asks Windows for permission to use your private network, so on a normal install this just works. You only need the steps below if devices still can't find each other - usually because the firewall prompt was dismissed, or your network is set to Public.
If LockYit shows "Can't reach your other devices", open the built-in troubleshooting card (or tap Not seeing your devices? on the Local Sync screen) and use its two buttons - or do it manually:
1. Allow LockYit through Windows Defender Firewall
- Open Windows Security → Firewall & network protection → Allow an app through firewall.
- Find LockYit in the list and make sure Private is ticked.
- If LockYit isn't listed, click Allow another app…, browse to LockYit, add it, then tick Private.
2. Set your network to Private (not Public)
The firewall permission only covers Private networks. On a Public network, Windows blocks incoming connections - so your other devices can't reach this one even after the firewall rule is added.
- Open Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet).
- Select your active connection and set the Network profile type to Private.
These settings are per-Windows-device. Your phone or tablet doesn't need any of this - only the Windows PC that can't be reached.
After allowing the app and switching to a Private network, reopen LockYit and pull to refresh - your other devices should now appear.
iPhone, iPad & Mac: allow Local Network access
Apple devices ask for Local Network permission the first time an app tries to find devices on your network. LockYit needs it to discover your other devices. If you tapped Don't Allow (or dismissed the prompt), discovery silently finds nothing - and there's no way to make the prompt reappear, so you have to turn it on in Settings.
If LockYit shows "Can't reach your other devices", tap Open Settings on the troubleshooting card - or do it manually:
- iPhone / iPad: open Settings → LockYit and turn on Local Network.
- Mac: open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and turn on LockYit.
Do this on each Apple device that isn't appearing. After enabling it, reopen LockYit and pull to refresh.
Android: check network, VPN & permissions
Android doesn't hide local sync behind a single switch, so when devices can't find each other it's usually one of these:
- Guest network / AP isolation - make sure you're on the same Wi-Fi as your other devices, not a guest network. Guest networks and routers with "AP isolation" block devices from seeing each other.
- VPN - a VPN routes your traffic away from the local network. Turn it off while syncing.
- Nearby devices permission - on Android 13 and later, open Settings → Apps → LockYit → Permissions and allow Nearby devices.
- Battery optimization - if syncing stops when the app is in the background, exclude LockYit from battery optimization (Settings → Apps → LockYit → Battery → Unrestricted).
After checking these, reopen LockYit and pull to refresh - your other devices should now appear.
Privacy & security
- All sync traffic stays on your local network - nothing is uploaded to the cloud or to LockYit's servers.
- Sync only happens while both devices are unlocked and on the same network.
- The contents of every transfer are encrypted end-to-end.
- Pairing codes verify the connection locally and are never transmitted.
See also: Sharing to hand individual items to other people on the same network.