The Dos and Don'ts of Keeping Your Seed Phrase Safe
Let’s assume that you have chosen the most secure route in your cryptocurrency investing journey by putting your investments in a non-custodial wallet.Â
Now, you hold your seed phrase, and hackers can’t easily access your funds online anymore—but here’s the catch, now you are solely responsible for the protection and safe keeping of said seed phrase (Which you typically write down on a flimsy piece of paper)
Your Seed Phrase is Your Recovery Phrase
It’s safe to say that the access to and protection of your cryptocurrency wallet is dependent on that piece of paper and you would want to keep it safe at all costs. So what should you do? What should you not do?
Have no fear, we’re here to share some tips on how you can keep your crypto portfolio safe by keeping your seed phrase safe.
The Dos
If possible, use a separate device solely from web3 investing and nothing else—like a different laptop and phone that you will never expose to malicious sites or applications.
Write down your seed phrase! Refrain from creating a digital copy of your seed phrase. This includes taking photos of your seed phrase, texting or emailing it, saving it on your notes app, etc. because any digital copy can be accessed by hackers.. and trust us they will try their best!
Laminate your seed phrase to avoid smudging or damage during usage and storage. Better yet, you can opt for steel seed phrase backup solutions like the Trezor Keep Key, Imkey Heirbox, and Safepal Cypher. You don’t want to come to a point where you need your seed phrase and suddenly you discover that its unreadable, damaged, withered or even torn apart.
Make additional safety copies of your seed phrase and store them in safe and secure locations. These should be locations safe from robberies, fire, flooding, etc.
The Don'ts
Do not carry your seed phrase around with you all the time. You can accidentally lose your seed phrase and you can even get robbed point blank so we recommend storing your seed phrase in safe and secure places instead.
Use secure devices! (Yes, pretty obvious) There’s a big chance that your devices have been hacked before you even started your web three investment journey. Now ask yourself, is the free-to-use version of your anti-virus really 100% protecting your devices? (Don’t feel guilty. A ton of people only use the free version too)
Do not EVER make a digital copy of your seed phrase. Again, any digital copy can be accessed by hackers… In addition, many applications require access to your photos, media, messages, and contacts to function—recent data privacy breaches also tell us that apps that have access to your notes, photos, emails, messages, and more can see your seed phrase. So why take a picture of your seed phrase? Why send it via text? You’ll indirectly expose the keys of your cryptocurrency wallet to the internet.
Here’s a quick list of reminders
Do not take photos of your seed phrase.
Do not put your seed phrase in your PC’s notepad.
Do not create an MS Word for your seed phrase.
Do not send your seed phrase via email or text.
Do not print or fax your seed phrase.
Do not store your seed phrase inside a password manager.
Trust Yourself, Thank Yourself!
Choosing self-custody and taking control over your crypto wallet’s seed phrase/private keys will provide many benefits but will come with its fair share of responsibilities.
Although it may be daunting for some investors, taking responsibility for your crypto wallet’s keys will help keep your investments safe and accessible all throughout your investing years.
If you religiously follow these do’s and don’ts, you’ll be able to sit back and enjoy that worry-free investing experience!
