Your seed phrase is one of the most important elements of your crypto wallet. It allows you to access your crypto wallet and stored funds, even if your wallet has been lost or deleted. Needless to say, you must keep your seed phrase safe to protect access to your crypto assets. But how can you store your seed phrase securely, and what storage mistakes should you avoid?
How to Store Your Crypto Seed Phrase Safely
There is no perfect method for storing your crypto seed phrase securely, but the following should help you on the way.
1. Seed Phrase Splitting
A seed phrase usually contains between 12 and 24 random words. While this is pretty much impossible for someone to guess, they can gain instant access to your crypto funds if they find your seed phrase. However, with anything less than the whole seed phrase, cybercriminals won't be able to touch these funds. This is why seed splitting is a great idea.
Seed splitting involves separating your seed phrase into two or more sections and storing each section securely. You can do this both virtually and physically. However, physical storage tends to be safer, as it negates the possibility of cybercrime or system malfunction (both of which can result in the ultimate loss of your crypto funds). You can do this in a number of ways, which will be discussed further here. One of the best ways to store a split seed phrase is on or in a steel plate or capsule.
2. An Secure Steel Plate or Capsule
Steel plates and capsules allow you to physically store your seed phrase, or split seed phrases, easily and securely. There are several different types of these products, including Ledger's Cryptosteel capsule and their Blindfodl steel plate. TREZOR and ELLIPAL also offer similar products.
So, how do they work?
A steel capsule works by separating each word of your seed phrase using both character plates and separator plates. It then securely locks them in using a deep thread that holds the capsule's shell and core together.
The Cryptosteel capsule is designed to withstand extreme conditions and can store up to 123 individual characters. If you want to split your seed phrase, consider buying two capsules or storing part of the phrase in the capsule and part of it in a separate secure location.
The same goes for steel plates, though they're not designed in exactly the same way. For example, Ledger's Blindfodl plate also comes with small engraved keys, but can only store 96 characters, instead of the Cryptosteel capsule's 123. Such plates are also designed to withstand fire, water, and tampering. Though these forms of storage will, of course, cost more than a piece of paper or storage app, they are highly secure and are certainly a solid option for keeping that seed phrase super-safe.
3. A Hard Drive
The great thing about hard drives, such as a typical USB stick, is that they allow for offline storage of your seed phrase. They're also super accessible and affordable, unlike some other storage options. You can find hard drives in just about every tech store, unlike engraved plates or capsules, but there does come a glaring downside with these devices: they're not designed to be secure.
So, if you keep your hard drive ultra-safe, you should be okay. However, if it was to get in the hands of a criminal, they can very easily plug that drive into any laptop or computer and access your seed phrase. You could split your seed phrase between two or more drives, making it much harder to access, but they will always be easy to infiltrate if found.
You should also use a drive that is not being used for anything else, as this can lead to losing the seed phrase's location on the drive or leaving the drive somewhere after using it for something else.
4. A Physical Hiding Place
If you want to store your seed phrase in a way that completely negates the use of technology, then using paper is an option. However, this is not a good idea if you're planning on storing your entire phrase on one piece of paper located in an easy-to-access place. So, again, we highly recommend seed splitting and multiple secure hiding places if you want to store your seed phrase in this way. But, what is considered a 'good' hiding place?
This depends on the layout of your home, but there are common objects wherein you can hide your split phrases. Consider: a book, under a floorboard, within the zip of your office chair, or even behind the label on a jar—the more obscure, the better.
3 Seed Phrase Storage Options to Avoid
Now, let's discuss the storage options to avoid to keep your seed phrase safe. While these may seem like cheaper or easier options, keeping security as the absolute priority when storing your seed phrase is important. So, what should you steer clear of?
1. A Password Manager App
Password manager apps are a bit like Crocs. Some think they're great, some think they're useless (or, in this case, too risky). While storing social media logins and similar information on password manager apps may be a convenient option, such apps should never be used to store your seed phrase.
Password manager apps often require a simple password for access, which means they can be easily infiltrated by cybercriminals. What's more, if your phone malfunctions, you run the risk of losing your seed phrase entirely. So leave the password manager for less important login info and passphrases.
2. Taking a Picture of Your Seed Phrase
This is one of the riskiest forms of seed phrase storage. Never store your seed phrase by simply taking a photo of it, as this makes it accessible to anyone who has access to your phone. Furthermore, if you have automatic cloud backup, you'll upload your seed phrase to your cloud storage, and if someone breaches it, they'll have access to your phrase.
You could also lose your seed phrase permanently if your phone ever malfunctions or needs to be reset before you think to relocate the phrase. So make sure you avoid this storage method at all costs!
3. Using an Online Seed Recovery Site
There are two major downsides to using a seed recovery site. Firstly, if you don't first verify the legitimacy of the site, you may end up giving your seed phrase to cybercriminals. At this point, it's pretty much game over for your crypto funds.
What's more, a seed phrase recovery site involves the online storage of your seed phrase. This, again, is unsafe, given that the site is vulnerable to hacking. So steer well clear of these sites.
A Seed Phrase Is More Than Just a Password
Unlike a regular password, a seed phrase cannot be changed, so it must always be kept secure and accessible to you. What's more, if you have a considerable amount of funds in your crypto wallet, losing your seed phrase, or having it stolen, could result in the loss of significant amounts of money. So, make sure you consider the tips above so that your seed phrase is always well protected.