Why Your Seed Phrase Matters
A wallet’s master key will be a seed phrase; this is the series of 12 or 24 random words. This will allow you to use your wallet no matter if you’ve lost the device or had it stolen/damaged. With crypto, unlike banks and other financial institutions, there are no customer service representatives to help you recover the funds in your wallet if your seed phrase is lost or compromised. Therefore, protecting your seed phrase is incredibly important when it comes to the overall safety and security of your crypto.
Write It Down and Store It Offline
One of the most secure ways to secure your seed words would be to write them on paper or use metal backers as they would survive being fire damaged or water damaged. You should never save your seed words in digital form, such as a note app on your phone, in cloud storage, via email or with a screenshot. All devices that are connected to the internet are subject to being hacked and have malware and can be accessed by others without your permission. Therefore, the best method of protecting your seed phrase would be to keep it in offline storage only.
Never Share Your Seed Phrase
Always keep your seed phrase private. No reputable exchange, wallet or customer service will ask you for this information. If someone is asking for your recovery phrase, there is almost certain that they are attempting to illegally obtain your funds. Be wary of phishing websites, fake technicians, and scam messages that claim to offer help.
Use Multiple Secure Backup Locations
Using just one backup is dangerous. If your only copy of the backup gets destroyed because of fire, flood or mistakenly damaging it, you will have no way to recover the data. Make at least two copies of your seed phrase and keep them in different secure places such as at home in a safe or at a bank in a safety deposit box. This will limit your chance of losing access to your seed phrase, as well as protect your recovery phrase.
Consider Additional Security Measures
Holding larger amounts of cryptocurrency means you should be using a hardware wallet for maximum security. Additionally, a number of hardware wallet users add an additional layer of security with an optional passphrase. Due to this, if someone finds out your seed phrase, they will not be able to access your wallet without the accompanying passphrase. On the other hand, if you forget this passphrase, you will almost certainly be permanently locked out of your funds.
Final Thoughts
The security of your cryptocurrency relies greatly on protecting your seed phrase. Many ways exist for protecting your information through offline methods, including not sharing your seed phrase with anyone, making a safe backup copy, and using advanced security solutions to minimize the risk of losing or having the information stolen. By taking small steps today, you could hopefully save a lot of money from being lost in the future because of issues with digital assets.
