Break-Glass Access – Emergency Backup (Noodtoegang)

Break-Glass Access — known in Dutch as Noodtoegang — gives a website owner a safe “emergency button”. The administrator chooses, in advance, one existing user (any role except administrator) who is allowed to make a full backup when it is really needed — for example when the regular web administrator is unreachable. That user keeps their own role and only receives one extra right: “make an emergency backup”. They never become an administrator.

The name is literal: like breaking the glass on a fire alarm, this is meant for the one moment when the normal route is closed.

In an emergency, the chosen user requests a code. The code is sent by email to that user’s own account address. After entering the correct code, a temporary emergency window opens with a single button. The plugin drives UpdraftPlus and makes a full backup of files and database. With that backup, a (new) web administrator can restore the site on another server and give the owner the right access there.

The emergency window closes automatically (you choose 2, 4 or 8 hours, and 1-5 code requests per day) and every step is visible in the activity log. In the free version the administrator is deliberately not emailed — activity is visible in the log. With Pro the administrator is emailed the moment emergency access is activated and when a backup is made, and can then contact the client. By design the administrator cannot interrupt a running emergency backup — this plugin protects the site owner precisely in situations where the administrator is unreachable or uncooperative.

Pro adds an “emergency passport”: the welcome email a user receives when they are granted emergency access becomes a keepsake document with everything needed to secure the site — login name, the address the mail was sent to, a login link (also when the login URL is hidden), a password-reset link and, if set, a masked phone number and a private email address. The real password is never included.

The free version is fully functional on its own and works everywhere without any account or key.

Backup tool

Break-Glass Access uses the free UpdraftPlus plugin to make the actual backup. UpdraftPlus is a required plugin: install and activate it in advance via Plugins → Add New (the plugin also shows a reminder with a direct install link). The plugin never installs anything automatically.

A backup is powerful — handle it with care

Whoever has the backup file can log in on a restored copy of the site. Store and share backups carefully.

Pro version

There is also a paid Pro version (a separate premium plugin). It adds service-based delivery and convenience: up to 5 emergency users, SMS verification, an extra backup mail server so the code still arrives when your site cannot send email, email alerts to the administrator when emergency access starts and when a backup is made, an emergency passport in the welcome email, a configuration self-test, and an extra email address for the code. Everything in this free plugin is complete and stays fully functional regardless of Pro.

Pro pricing and details:

• English — breakglassaccess.com/pricing
• Nederlands — noodtoegang.nl/prijzen

Websites and documentation

• English: breakglassaccess.com — how it works · documentation · support
• Nederlands: noodtoegang.nl — het doel · documentatie · support
• Recommended by KVWB — Keurmerk Verantwoord Webbeheer

External services

The plugin works fully standalone. The free version connects to no external service at all (apart from installing UpdraftPlus from WordPress.org, below). The following connections are Pro features and require an active licence:

1. Extra backup mail server (Pro; on by default when Pro is active, can be switched off under Settings → Verification). If your site cannot send email itself, the plugin asks the Break-Glass Access service (noodtoegang.nl) to deliver the emergency code, so a broken site mailbox never locks the user out. When enabled and the administrator saves the plugin settings, the site registers its URL, a site secret and the emergency users’ email addresses with the service; in an emergency the code and recipient address are then sent over HTTPS. The service only mails pre-registered addresses and does not log codes. Switch it off and no data is sent to the service. See https://noodtoegang.nl/privacyverklaring/ for the privacy policy.
2. SMS verification (Pro; off by default, switched on under Settings → Verification). With an active licence and SMS enabled, the site registers its URL, a site secret and the chosen phone number with the Break-Glass Access service (noodtoegang.nl). In an emergency the site then sends only the site URL and the emergency code, signed; the service composes the text itself and sends it to the registered number only. The plugin never transmits a free-text message or an arbitrary number, and the service does not log codes.
3. WordPress.org. UpdraftPlus (the required backup tool) is installed by you from the official WordPress.org plugin directory, using the standard WordPress plugin installer, only when you choose to install it. The plugin never installs anything automatically. This applies to both the free and Pro versions.

No data is sent to any service without the actions described above. There is no tracking or telemetry.

For developers

• Capability kvwb_make_backup — granted per user to the chosen emergency user (no separate role).
• Filter kvwb_nt_trigger_backup — take over how the backup is triggered.
• Filter kvwb_nt_purchase_url — change the URL of the “View Pro” button.
• Filter kvwb_nt_mail_logo_url — set a logo for the plugin’s emails (empty by default: the free plugin loads no external image when a recipient opens an email; the emails use a text header instead).
• Filter kvwb_nt_send_sms — short-circuit the SMS request ($pre, $type, $code; return true/false), for local testing or a custom gateway. The plugin never sends the phone number or the message text itself: the service holds the registered number and composes the text.
• Filter kvwb_nt_sms_endpoint / constant KVWB_NT_SMS_URL — override the SMS service endpoint (HTTPS only).
• Filter kvwb_nt_send_failsafe_mail — short-circuit the backup email delivery (return true/false), for local testing.
• Filter kvwb_nt_mail_endpoint / constant KVWB_NT_MAIL_URL and filter kvwb_nt_register_endpoint / constant KVWB_NT_REGISTER_URL — override the backup delivery endpoints (HTTPS only).
• Constant KVWB_NT_DEV (wp-config.php; local testing ONLY) — shows the emergency code on screen so you can test without working email.