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Store your recovery phrase safely: paper, steel, and where to keep it
Where and how to keep the recovery words of a crypto wallet: paper or steel, how many copies, which places, and what never to do with them.
Key points
- Keep the words offline, apart from the device, in a place that is protected from damage and still within your reach.
- Paper is enough if you protect it from water, fire, and fading. Steel lasts longer.
- Never photograph, scan, type, or label them. Every copy is one more chance for someone to find them.
Paper or steel
| Paper | Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | nothing, the card is in the box | a steel plate or capsule to buy |
| Weak against | water, fire, fading, and wear | depends on the product and how you record the words |
| Good for | a start, in a dry and safe place | the long term, and places with a risk of fire or water |
BitBox describes paper as needing protection “from water, fire, fading, and wear,” and steel as more resistant to physical damage.
Where to keep the words
BitBox’s advice comes down to three demands: the place should keep other people out, protect the material from damage, and stay reachable for you when you need it. Some options:
- a safe at home that is fixed to the wall or floor,
- a bank safe deposit box,
- a sealed envelope with a person you trust, who knows what it is.
Keep the words apart from the device. The words alone are enough to take your coins, so they need the better hiding place.
How many copies
One more copy protects against fire or loss, but it is also one more chance for someone to find it. Make only as many copies as you can protect.
What never to do
- Never type the words into a computer, phone, website, password manager, cloud service, support chat, or AI tool.
- Never photograph, scan, photocopy, or print them.
- Do not rely on your memory alone. Memory can fail.
- Do not label the envelope or box as a Bitcoin or wallet backup.
Next step
The guide Passphrase and multisig shows how to protect larger amounts even if someone finds the words.
The figures in this guide come from the archive and change with every data update. As of November 13, 2026.
Check it with the archive's data
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