What is a .beanpod file?
A .beanpod file is the single encrypted file that contains all of your family's data. It uses the v4.0 file format with per-member key wrapping.
File structure
Inside a .beanpod file (JSON):
- version — File format version (
"4.0") - familyId — Unique identifier for your family
- familyName — Your family's display name
- keyId — Key rotation identifier
- wrappedKeys — Per-member password-wrapped copies of the family key (older families)
- recoveryKeys — Recovery-kit wrapped copies of the family key — how new families are opened (see Your Recovery Kit)
- passkeyWrappedKeys — Per-passkey wrapped copies (for biometric login in the installed app)
- inviteKeys — Active invite link packages (24-hour expiry)
- encryptedPayload — Your actual data: IV + AES-GCM encrypted Automerge binary
In families created before PINs arrived, each member has their own wrapped copy of the family key, derived from their password. New families start with a recovery-kit wrap instead — everyday sign-in is each member’s 6-digit PIN, which travels inside the encrypted family data itself, never in the file wrapper and never on a server.
Where is it stored?
By default, your pod data lives in IndexedDB (an encrypted cache in your browser). If you connect Google Drive, the .beanpod file is also saved there — but always encrypted before upload.
Opening your file from any account or device
Because the file is yours, you can open it from anywhere you can reach it — not just the Google account that first created it. On the sign-in screen, under “Load a saved family file”, you can pick a .beanpod from another Google account, from a different device, or from a backup you’ve restored. This works on the web, on Android, and on iOS.
On a phone, the system file picker can reach files stored in Google Drive, iCloud, or on the device itself. On a desktop Chrome or Edge browser, opening a file that lives only in a different Google account means downloading it to your computer first, then choosing it.
The file is still encrypted — opening it on a fresh device always needs something only your family holds: your recovery kit code, your family passphrase, or a link from a device that’s already signed in (then your PIN). A copied .beanpod is useless to anyone without one of those.
One file, shared by the whole family
Your family has exactly one .beanpod file, and everyone works on that same file. Whoever set the family up owns it in their Google Drive and shares it with everyone else — so if you joined by invite, the file lives in someone else’s Drive and that is completely normal. It is still your family’s file, and you can edit it just like they can.
beanies never makes a second copy of your family’s file. A copy would quietly split your family in two — each half adding to a different file, each seeing only its own changes — so it is not something the app will do on its own, and not something it will offer to do.
If beanies can’t reach your family’s file
Sometimes the app can open your data but can’t confirm it is able to save to it — you’re offline, your Google connection has expired, the file has been moved or put in the bin, or the person who shared it has stopped sharing it. When that happens you’ll see a banner at the top of the app explaining which of those it is, with a button that takes you back to the original file. Your changes stay safely on your device in the meantime.
If a banner tells you you’re working on a copy of your family’s file, it means your changes aren’t reaching everyone else. Tap “Switch to your family’s file” — the changes on your device come across with you, and the copy is left alone.