To sign transactions, a device must be marked as a trusted device. Signing works only in the desktop or mobile app — never in the web version.
Use this guide when you have moved to a new device, want to grant signing to another workspace member, your trusted device is lost, reset, stolen, or compromised, or you have changed its biometrics.
1. How to get signing on a device
There are four ways. Which ones you actually see depends on what you set up before you lost access — Device Management only offers the methods your account is already eligible for:
Approval from another trusted device — if any trusted device still works (yours or a teammate’s), approve the request from it. No security delay, no recovery needed. Always prefer this option. The request stays open for 48 hours; if nobody approves it in that time it expires, and you can start again or switch to another method.
FaceScan recovery — no working trusted device left: verify your identity with a face scan and wait out a 48-hour security delay. Offered only if FaceScan is already enrolled on your account and the enrolment is more than 30 days old.
Guardian recovery — no working trusted device left: collect recovery codes from 2 of your Guardians and wait out a 48-hour security delay. Offered only if at least 2 Guardians accepted their invitation more than 30 days ago.
Self-recovery — no FaceScan or Guardians available: a 30-day security delay applies. In the app it is called Extended security delay. This option is always available, so it is what remains if you never set up FaceScan or Guardians.
Only users with the appropriate role (e.g. Owner) can grant signing to a device.
⚠️ No FaceScan and no Guardians? Self-recovery is your only route, and it takes 30 days. Setting up FaceScan or adding Guardians now will not shorten it — each of them has to pass its own 30-day security delay before it can be used for recovery, so neither would be ready any sooner. Start self-recovery straight away, and set up FaceScan and Guardians alongside it so that next time the wait is 48 hours instead of 30 days.
⚠️ Changing biometrics removes trust. If you re-enrol or reset Face ID, Touch ID, or Windows Hello on a trusted device (for example, add or remove a fingerprint), the key shards stored on it are invalidated for your protection, and trust is removed for all accounts on that device. You can still sign in and use the device, but it can’t sign transactions until you trust it again — through approval from another trusted device (instant) or recovery.
⚠️ If your device has been stolen or compromised, do not approve any unknown trust requests. Remove the compromised device from the trusted list and restore signing via recovery.
2. Approval from another trusted device
2.1 Install and log in on the new device
Log in to Bron via the web version and install the desktop or mobile app on the device where you want to receive signing.
Sign in to the app.
Only trusted devices can sign transactions — this cannot be done from the web app. Both desktop and mobile apps can be trusted signing devices, and Device Management is available in both.
💡 Heads-up after signing in on a new device. A sign-in from a new browser, or from a device you have just added, starts a security cool-down of up to 48 hours, and some sensitive actions are restricted until it ends — including removing a device from your account. A brand-new device does not escape this: it starts its own 48-hour cool-down first. On a device you set up with Bron more than 48 hours ago, signing in lifts the cool-down straight away; in a browser it simply ends on its own after up to 48 hours and cannot be lifted from another device — see Log In to Bron. At the same time, your other signed-in sessions may show a New device login detected alert: press Yes, it's me if it was you, or No, it is not me to get guided steps to sign the unknown device out and review your account security.
💡 The cool-down does not block trusting this device. Requesting approval from another trusted device, and starting any recovery method, both work while it is running — so if you are waiting out a cool-down, you do not need to wait before doing anything on this page. Any security delay shown by a recovery method is a separate, longer clock that only starts once you begin that recovery.
2.2 Open Device Management
Open the account you need signing for and click the devices icon in the account header (List of trusted devices that can sign for this account). The Trusted devices window shows this device and, under In account, whether it can Sign transactions. Click Trust this device.
💡 Not trusted on any account yet? The dashboard also shows a Trust this device banner. Click Trust now and choose the account. Each account is trusted with its own request.
2.3 Create a trust request
The Trust new device screen shows the device, the account and the Method. When another device with signing exists, the method is Approve on another device (instant access).
Click Request approval. The request opens with its steps and the list of devices that can approve it.
Once your request is created, sign in to Bron on one of these devices and open the same account.
⚠️ Check that one of the listed devices still works before you wait on this. The list shows every device that holds signing, including ones you have since wiped, reset or lost. Such a device can never approve the request, so it will simply sit unanswered until it expires after 48 hours. If none of the listed devices is usable, go to recovery instead — see section 3.
2.4 Validate the trust request
On the device that already has signing, open the account's Trusted devices window. The request is listed under New device requests; open it.
Carefully review the request details to ensure it is legitimate.
The request shows the details of the device asking for access — device model, operating system, and browser. If they don't match a device you own, decline the request.
Enabling signing on a new device means the device will be able to sign transactions from the account.
Only approve legitimate and secure requests.
2.5 Approve the trust request
If the request is legitimate, click Approve. If you don't recognise the device, click Reject.
2.6 Activate trust on the new device
Return to the new device and open the request — from the Trusted devices window or the Activate device banner on the dashboard.
Click Activate. Bron sets up signing on the device; this can take a few minutes.
When it finishes, the device shows Ready to sign and you can sign transactions from it.
3. Recovery (no trusted device available)
If no device with signing is left, open Trust this device as above and click Change next to the method. If you have already created a request, open it and click I can’t access any of these devices. Recovery must be run for each affected account separately.
Whichever method you use, recovery never changes your wallet addresses or assets — only the shards are replaced.
You will only be shown the methods your account is eligible for. If FaceScan was never enrolled and you have fewer than 2 Guardians, the only method on this screen is Extended security delay (self-recovery), with its 30-day security delay. Before you switch to a recovery method, Bron asks you to confirm (Change method?); choose Stay with device approval to go back.
⚠️ Recovery removes all other trusted devices. After it completes, only this device will be trusted and able to sign — other devices will need to be trusted again manually.
⚠️ If your FaceScan or Guardians were added recently, the method is shown with Available in and the time left until its 30-day security delay ends. For a Guardian the 30 days start when that person accepts the invite; for FaceScan, when the enrolment is completed.
3.1 FaceScan recovery (48-hour security delay)
If FaceScan is set up, it appears as the recommended method. Click Start verification and complete the face scan — you will be asked to agree to the use of iProov and allow camera access.
A 48-hour security delay begins. Once it is over, open the request and click Activate.
3.2 Guardian recovery (48-hour security delay)
Choose Guardians and click Request approval. Your Guardians receive recovery request emails, and all workspace members are notified for security purposes.
Contact your Guardians via your pre-agreed communication channel and ask them to share their recovery codes — they should first verify that it is really you. Share the guide for guardians with them.
Click Enter codes, enter the two recovery codes and click Confirm. A 48-hour security delay begins.
Once the delay is over, open the request and click Activate.
What Guardians are and how to set them up — see the Guardians article.
3.3 Self-recovery (30-day security delay)
If FaceScan and your Guardians are not available, choose Extended security delay and click Create request. A 30-day security delay begins, and all workspace members are notified. Once the delay is over, open the request and click Activate — no codes required.
The 30 days start the moment you begin self-recovery, so start it as soon as you know it is your only option. Nothing you set up afterwards will shorten it. You keep full access to your account throughout — you can sign in, see your balances and follow activity; only signing transactions has to wait.
On activation Bron refreshes your key shares using the MPC protocol — this takes a few minutes. Your device receives a new shard, Bron and the trusted third party replace theirs, and the old shards can no longer be used. Your key, wallet addresses and assets stay exactly the same.
4. Removing a trusted device
You can remove signing from a device in the account's Trusted devices window:
This device — click Remove trust under In account.
Another device — find it under Other trusted devices, click ••• and choose Remove trust.
Bron asks you to confirm. If it is the last trusted device on the account, the warning reads This is the last trusted device: after removing it you will need recovery, with its security delay, to sign again.
⚠️ Do this only if you are absolutely sure — removing a trusted device will immediately revoke its ability to sign.
To sign a device out completely, go to Settings → Linked devices and click Revoke device access next to it. This removes the device as a trusted device from all accounts and signs it out of all active sessions immediately.
Removing a device does not change your wallet addresses or assets. Bron and the trusted third party stop accepting signatures from it, and its shard alone is never enough to sign a transaction.
If you have questions, contact our support team via messenger on the Bron platform or by email support@bron.org.
📅 Questions about how this works for your team? Book a call with our product team