Keyopened

Keyopened is a term used to describe the state of access being granted to secured content, space, or data after the correct key has been provided. The expression combines the words key and opened and is generally used to indicate that the usual locked condition has been overcome by presenting the appropriate key, whether a physical key, a cryptographic key, or a digital key.

Origin and usage: Keyopened is not an official technical term in major standards. It appears in informal security writing, documentation sketches, and some product descriptions to convey that a key was used to unlock something. Its meaning can vary by domain, reflecting either physical lock mechanisms or cryptographic decryption.

In cryptographic contexts, "keyopened data" or "keyopened files" refers to data that has been decrypted with the corresponding private or symmetric key. In physical security, a door or container may be described as keyopened when opened with a key rather than a code or biometric method. In software licensing or digital rights management, a key may activate or unlock features, sometimes described loosely as keyopening.

Limitations: Because it is informal, keyopened can be ambiguous and is not used in formal specifications. It should be avoided in precise documentation; preferred terms include decrypted, unlocked, opened with the key, or activated by license key depending on context.

See also: access control, encryption, decryption, key management, license activation, door hardware.