How To: A User's Guide to Backing Up Your Bitwarden Vault

[grb]

@dh024

Obviously, an unencrypted export file of all your vault contents is something you need to fiercely protect. Thus, if you create unencrypted export files for your backup strategy, be sure to save them directly to an encrypted volume or drive that is secure. VeraCrypt volumes, Mac encrypted disk image volumes, or encrypted removable drives/flash drives are all good options. Avoid saving these files to an unencrypted drive and then copying them to a secure location, because a very determined attacker might be able to retrieve deleted files from your computer, depending on the file system it uses.

 
I have not yet verified this myself, but there is a recent Reddit post reporting that when exporting from the Desktop client directly to a BitLockered drive (consistent with the recommendations given above), the export process creates a temporary copy of the unencrypted export in the default Downloads directory. If confirmed, this would directly affect the above advice given about unencrypted exports. The guide may need to specify that unencrypted exports should only be created using the Web Vault (assuming the reported issue is restricted to the Desktop app*).

*Update: I’ve come across a report that similar issues may affect the downloading of unencrypted exports from the Web Vault, depending on the browser and browser settings used. Caveat emptor.