diff --git a/bramble-api/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/api/account/AccountManager.java b/bramble-api/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/api/account/AccountManager.java
index f33b44594..4acbee525 100644
--- a/bramble-api/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/api/account/AccountManager.java
+++ b/bramble-api/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/api/account/AccountManager.java
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package org.briarproject.bramble.api.account;
 
 import org.briarproject.bramble.api.crypto.DecryptionException;
 import org.briarproject.bramble.api.crypto.SecretKey;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.identity.Identity;
 import org.briarproject.bramble.api.identity.IdentityManager;
 import org.briarproject.bramble.api.nullsafety.NotNullByDefault;
 
@@ -43,6 +44,17 @@ public interface AccountManager {
 	 */
 	boolean createAccount(String name, String password);
 
+	/**
+	 * Restores a given identity by registering it with the
+	 * {@link IdentityManager}.  Creates a database key, encrypts it with the
+	 * given password and stores it on disk. {@link #accountExists()} will
+	 * return true after this method returns true.
+ 	 * @param identity
+	 * @param password
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	boolean restoreAccount(Identity identity, String password);
+
 	/**
 	 * Deletes all account state from disk. {@link #accountExists()} will
 	 * return false after this method returns.
diff --git a/bramble-core/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/account/AccountManagerImpl.java b/bramble-core/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/account/AccountManagerImpl.java
index 4636dfad3..1e1fa71c7 100644
--- a/bramble-core/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/account/AccountManagerImpl.java
+++ b/bramble-core/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/account/AccountManagerImpl.java
@@ -176,6 +176,18 @@ class AccountManagerImpl implements AccountManager {
 		}
 	}
 
+	public boolean restoreAccount(Identity identity, String password) {
+		synchronized (stateChangeLock) {
+			if (hasDatabaseKey())
+				throw new AssertionError("Already have a database key");
+			identityManager.registerIdentity(identity);
+			SecretKey key = crypto.generateSecretKey();
+			if (!encryptAndStoreDatabaseKey(key, password)) return false;
+			databaseKey = key;
+			return true;
+		}
+	}
+
 	@GuardedBy("stateChangeLock")
 	private boolean encryptAndStoreDatabaseKey(SecretKey key, String password) {
 		byte[] plaintext = key.getBytes();
diff --git a/briar-android/src/main/java/org/briarproject/briar/android/socialbackup/recover/RestoreAccountActivity.java b/briar-android/src/main/java/org/briarproject/briar/android/socialbackup/recover/RestoreAccountActivity.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cd3aceb7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/briar-android/src/main/java/org/briarproject/briar/android/socialbackup/recover/RestoreAccountActivity.java
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+package org.briarproject.briar.android.socialbackup.recover;
+
+public class RestoreAccountActivity {
+}
diff --git a/briar-android/src/main/java/org/briarproject/briar/android/socialbackup/recover/RestoreAccountViewModel.java b/briar-android/src/main/java/org/briarproject/briar/android/socialbackup/recover/RestoreAccountViewModel.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3f9f020af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/briar-android/src/main/java/org/briarproject/briar/android/socialbackup/recover/RestoreAccountViewModel.java
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+package org.briarproject.briar.android.socialbackup.recover;
+
+public class RestoreAccountViewModel {
+}