Do’s and Don’ts of Keeping Your Recovery Seed Safe

by Liz Windsor

Tattooing the recovery seed on your arm might not be a good idea when you work in a circus.

You have your hardware wallet set up and backed up by writing down your 24 or 12 word recovery seed on the card it came with — now what? The safety and availability of your entire wallet depends on this rather flimsy piece of paper. You’ll need to refer to the recovery seed to restore your wallet every time you update your device.Don’t panic, we’ve prepared a list of do’s and don’ts so you can stay secure and stress-free.
If you want to know more about the recovery seed and what it’s used for, read this blog post.

Do’s:

• If you are worried about losing your seed card to natural disasters that can cause water or fire damage, the safest way to store your recovery seed is on a backup tool like Cryptosteel. It’s an indestructible tool that leaves your security in your own hands — no third party involved. It’s even manufactured with a way to attach a padlock, for extra security no matter where you keep it.
• You want to keep your recovery seed safely out of sight. You can keep it locked in a safe in your own house, or you can find a secure alternative away from your property. Although keeping your recovery seed offsite can be inconvenient when it’s time to update to the latest firmware, security and convenience are often inversely related.
• To protect your recovery seed card while it’s in your safe, laminate it. Laminators are fairly inexpensive, and it will keep your card safe from accidental water damage or other stains and physical damage like tearing or smudging. We don’t recommend taking your card in to a shop to get it laminated. You are the only person who should ever see your recovery seed.
• You can also store more than one copy of your recovery seed. You receive two cards in each Trezor box. They should be stored separately to increase your own security and to lessen the chance of losing your recovery seed through accident or theft. One copy can go in your safe at home, and the other can be stored offsite, in a bank for example.
• You can keep your recovery seed safe from physical damage by engraving it on a steel plate. Again, engraving tools are fairly inexpensive, and are especially worth the investment if you have more than one recovery seed to protect.
• As a final tip, include access to your recovery seed in your will. You want to feel as secure as possible, but don’t forget to plan for any eventuality. You can read online about multiple cases of people who died and did not leave their passphrase or recovery seed accessible to their family.
• As a final tip to protect your device and add one more layer to your recovery seed, you can use the passphrase function for your wallet.

We told you not to write the recovery seed on a paper if you have pyromaniac tendencies.

Don’ts:

• The number one don’t that we can warn you against is this: Never store your recovery seed in any digital form.
• Don’t take a picture of it.
• Don’t put it in an email.
• Don’t store it in any password manager.
• Don’t save it in a Google doc.
• Don’t send it in a text message.
• Don’t print it out.
• Don’t send it in a fax.
• Some people use a USB to store their recovery seed, but even that can be compromised in certain situations. Why risk it?
• You should never carry your recovery seed with you. You could lose it or it could even be stolen from you.

Knowing how important your recovery seed is to protecting your assets and restoring your wallet after updates can be a little stressful. Hopefully these do’s and don’ts can help you decide the best way to store your recovery seed so you can continue using your Trezor hardware wallet stress-free.

About Us

Created by SatoshiLabs in 2014, the Trezor One is the original and most trusted hardware wallet in the world. It offers unmatched security for cryptocurrencies, password management, and serves as the second factor in Two-Factor Authentication. These features combine with an interface that is easy to use whether you are a security expert or a brand new user.

Trezor Model T is the next-generation hardware wallet, designed with the benefits of the original Trezor in mind, combined with a modern and intuitive interface for improved user experience and security. It features a touchscreen, faster processor, and advanced coin support, as well as all the features of the Trezor One.