Bitcoin Forum

Android is one the biggest operating system used by people in the world. Many hacker and cheater try a million way to hack that OS from user to steal his money, many hacker have succeeded and many user lost his money in the wallet.

if vulnerable why people still keep his bitcoin on wallet phone?, are they rich? Why they give his bitcoin to the hacker?

Because even though those hot wallets are not as secure as some cold storage the have some properties which are appealing, like the fact you can carry some satoshis with you wherever you go, they are free, they are lightweight, etc.

I think those wallets had the peek of their utility during the first years of Bitcoin, nowadays nobody reasonable or well informed would carry the bulk of their coins in an android app. It is just too risky, for the reason you have said.

For small day-to-day expenses. There are places where you can pay with Bitcoin, or you can exchange Bitcoin for cash in Bitcoin ATMs and certain stores. So, to make these operations you are not going to carry a laptop and your HW all the time. Carrying 0.01 BTC on your mobile is not crazy. I have been carrying small amounts for a long time and nothing has ever happened to me.

It could be the other way around. People are not quite rich enough to buy themselves a computer or laptop, as well as a hardware wallet. A lot of people here on the forum simply cannot purchase a device to calmly read the forum.
Another point is that not all Android devices will let hackers through. Reasonable people understand that if they have any financial means on the phone, they should use it with extreme caution. I don't have a wallet on my phone; however, I am sure that my information is not available to hackers.
It's simple. You are responsible for your funds. Even with a hardware wallet, if someone lacks sufficient knowledge of storage and use, he can still lose everything.

Phone is portable and easy to transact your crypto when you are outside and you want to spend some of it of course you need your phone to send any crypto, yeah its not advisable to carry all your crypto holdings in your phones but always store small amount to avoid possible hacking, phishing or in case you lost it, its also encourage to backup or keys/phrase in a secured location if you were going to travel to easily recover your assets if anything happens.

It depends on your goals, if you prefer to pay in person instead of online you need a mobile wallet. And if you're going to be making regular payments, it's best to keep your money in a wallet that's easy to use and accessible, mobile wallets and desktop wallets are also viable options.
and mobile phones are easy to carry and become a part of our daily lives, this also means they can be broken, damaged or stolen. If you only store a few assets on your phone in a digital wallet, then you don't need to worry too much. However people who keep all their crypto only in their phone, should be very careful with two things. Phone security and
Hacking towards digital hot wallets.
In conclusion, mobile wallets can be used to store small amounts of crypto but larger amounts of crypto are better stored in cold digital wallets.

 Although the Vulnerability of Mobil wallets and hardware wallets varies with the latter been more secured. But security sometimes has to do with how the investor treats both wallets, a mindful investor could keep his mobile wallet secured but a careless investors could still lost his funds on hardware wallets. Another thing about Mobile wallet is its portability and cost saving. Investors saving having just $300 or below worth of funds will see purchasing of hardware wallets a waste of money considering its price.

It's like asking people why keep fiat money on your phone or in a card or in your wallet when you walk around town? You need to do groceries, pay for your espresso, etc. :)

What or how else are you going to pay for expenses? You do know that what makes Bitcoin so valuable is the fact that people are spending it every day right?

Actually, the idea of storing crypto on phones is a very good idea. These devices are always at hand of users, almost everyone has it. The potential in this is huge and most likely, the industry will develop in this direction. Undoubtedly, there are vulnerabilities that will need to be addressed. Therefore, keeping money on phone wallets is acceptable, if it is not large amounts for everyday expenses. Of course, these devices are not intended for long-term storage and are not suitable.

You ask why people keep money on their phones. The answer is very simple - it's convenient. Often people are willing to give up security for the sake of it. I believe that the use of crypto currencies should be simple and convenient, and mobile wallets fulfill this function. By solving the security problem, this crypto storage method will win the consumer market.

People who don't consider an extra level of security or to go an extra mile to ensure the security of their coins, can still possess the mentality that the coins they have currently are not up to an amount what's going on extra mile for in seeking security or up to an amount that a hacker would be targeting.

Hackers usually target huge amounts of bitcoins, anyone with a very huge amount of bitcoins and decides to keep them on his mobile phone that he walks around with cannot be considered to be very wise.

What Poker Player and lovesmayfamilis explained really represents what I think about why people still keep valuable assets on their phones.

Maybe they keep it on their phone because they don't have the ability to buy another device and not all of them keep it on their phone because they also know that saving on their phone is not a good solution. But because for a while there is no other choice before they use a safer device to save.

Tokens and altcoins have been stolen from me before but not Bitcoin, I've been using Electrum mobile wallet for a few years now, I believe it's more easier for hackers to hack your PC than that of a android phone, but still I won't recommend using an android phone to store your Bitcoin, hardware wallets are the best.

Because many people do not care about security of their devices until their wallet has been hacked, this is because many of them do not know that hack can occur on their phone until it happened.

Another reason is the convenience. It is convenient for them to have coins on phone and make transaction easy and on the go at everywhere they are because they always have their mobile phone with themselves. But it is good to only leave the coin that you can afford to lose on phone, the rest on cold wallet.

At least if you hold your coins on non custodial wallet although you use online device, it's much safer than holding in centralized exchange. This can be a good solution for people that doesn't have a lot money to buy hardware wallet, what's the point to buy hardware wallet if you only hold coins that worth for $50? the hardware wallet price is more expensive than all of your coins lol.

However offline device would be more safer if you plan to hold on device.

It's normal for people where there are merchants who openly accept bitcoins and users can pay them instantly by scanning it from their phone like in the case of El Salvador because even if you keep it $100-$200 in your mobile it would not be big deal.The risk comes when you are storing your coins on your device in wallets without any safety which could be lost and your funds are gone easily.You need to keep your coins safe even in your non custodial wallets safe with your own responsibility.

The answer to your question is, because that's the least operating system device most people can afford, it doesn't mean they are very rich, because most of the hacking done is always caused by users mistakes i.e either by clicking an unknown link or visiting a trojan website which gives hackers access to our devices. But that doesn't mean there are ways can't still use this operating system and not yet gets hacked by always doing the needful i.e by always avoiding any unknown link or website, not sharing your phone password with friends and always try not tell people how much you own in your wallet.
Because according to research, I was able to know that the most valuable operating systems are Linux and Android.
https://i.ibb.co/MN7Rq1N/Screenshot-20221213-071503-1.jpg (https://ibb.co/XJtzm5J)
https://www.techradar.com/news/windows-10-isnt-the-most-vulnerable-operating-system-its-actually-linux

Phones are also vulnerable to offline attacks, one example is the use of fingerprint these days which can be used to attack you, your fingerprint can be used to access your phone and your wallet also demand for your fingerprint which can be used to access your wallet, to know your seed phrase and to spend from it. Because you can carry your phone around to anywhere that you are going, it makes it more vulnerable. It is good not to use fingerprint, using password or pin is better.

I agree, so many people can be very complacent with their coins  It's the same mentality
as keeping coins on an exchange.

The thing with smartphone wallet apps is that they offer very convenient user experiences
but phones are easily stolen, misplaced or damaged.

I don't see a problem with keeping some Satoshis on the phone in order to make minor
payments but to keep a full wallet on the phone is dangerous.

What they learn the first time, then that's what they do. There is no need to look up any statistics to prove that mobile users are the most compared to other devices. Features and practicality are the first things they look for besides security, so they look for information relevant to their device without having to get another device especially if it's more expensive.

Using an Android phone is not the problem here, the type of wallet been used is the main focal point we are concerned about, if you should use a hardware wallet or any open source cold storage and unable to maintain security sanity with caution in handling them then you're still vulnerable to attack, if you are using mobile phone wallet which are centralized like hot wallet, you can also experience difficulty I'm handling your asset one day because they can restrict your access to your asset, regulate you, authorize you and leak your information to any third party and finally they can get hacked and went bankrupt, so with bitcoin it's your decision to how and where you want to have your asset stored, but the best idea is for you to have access to them at anytime under your control.

The only legitimate reason I see here is the portability of mobile phones.
If it's only a few Satoshi, there's no need to worry about funds being stolen, but if it's a large amount of Bitcoin, a hard wallet should be considered.
As I previously stated, it is much easier to move around with your mobile phone wallet than it is with a desktop wallet, and you can also carry out transactions at any time without encountering any issue. That is the primary reason. However, some people may be using mobile wallets because they do not have enough fund to purchase a hard wallet.

https://www.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/maxresdefault-2.jpg

Think different, just buy an iPhone...

haha this what about i am going to say  ;D ;D

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put your big bag amount of coin to hardware wallet for long term holder, but of course if you bitcoin maximalist or crypto maximalist you do need couple of bitcoin or other crypto for daily transaction or exploring defi you do need phone or extension based wallet but for only for small amount. and using open source base wallet would be better.

and last like the @Poker Player till now I'm using metamask and trust wallet in a phone to use everyday :) if you guys keep your private key safe and not touch phising countract in other chain you should be fine

It's because it is handy.

Those that keeps their bitcoin in phone wallet apps, they just want to secure it that they can check it anytime. They for sure have the recovery phrases for that wallet so even if it gets stolen, they can still recover and retrieve it.

As for being hacked, it depends to the activities of the user. If that person is someone who keeps on searching for unusual things on the internet and download unusual apps, he's the likely that will be hacked than someone who just keep it there without doing anything.

At one time, I was interested in the question - which bitcoin wallets do bitcoin developers recommend?  

After all, these people are better than others in all aspects of the possible vulnerability of various bitcoin wallets....

To my surprise, I read information that wallets installed on a smartphone are generally more secure than bitcoin wallets installed on a laptop or computer.  

This is due to the peculiarities of the basic technical structure of smartphones.  It provides a dedicated isolated space for each installed application.  

In this regard, it is more difficult for hackers to hack Bitcoin - a wallet on a smartphone, compared to a wallet installed on a laptop or computer.

Saving a little Bitcoin on your cellphone to make it easier to transact while travelling, whether it's safe or not depends on us using the smartphone we have, don't click random links without reading because there's a chance for hackers to steal your data on your cellphone. In my opinion, there is a lot of security software to increase security on your cellphone, the quality of which is very difficult for hackers to penetrate, but all of that will be in vain if you are not good at maintaining security. Clicking any link without reading further will destroy all the data you have on your smartphone.

This may have to do with these 3 facts.
1. They are newbies and just starting to learn the facts about cryptocurrency.
2. Lack of knowledge regarding hacking and scammers.
3. They can not afford to buy cold wallet.

Either these 3 thing have to be the case. Otherwise, if you know that your assets are at risk, you will never store those assets in your smartphone wallet.
Many who have been in this crypto world, still store their assets in software wallet. Maybe they haven't been attacked by hackers or lost any assets in the past, so they never think about the vulnerability.
If they once get attacked my hackers, then they will consider switching to cold wallet.

I think Keeping your wallet in an Android phone is risky but it is not that every wallet in Android phone can be hacked by intruders. Most of the time, it is our fault as we do not make the necessary precautions and let hackers hack our phones. People open links from unknown sources, download offline apps from unknown sources, and later complain that their devices got compromised.

Little things can prevent hackers take your money like securing the apps with passwords and locking the phone with strong passwords etc.

Whether or not you should keep your bitcoins on a phone is ultimately up to you and depends on your individual circumstances. There are some advantages to storing bitcoins on a phone, such as easy access and the ability to make transactions quickly and easily. However, there are also some risks associated with storing bitcoins on a phone, such as the potential for theft or loss.

Before deciding whether or not to store your bitcoins on a phone, it is important to carefully consider the potential risks and rewards, as well as your own personal preferences and needs.

The answer is quite plain and simple: it is because of convenience.

You pretty much answered the question by yourself- android is indeed one of the biggest operating system in the world as it is used by majority of the population. Bearing this in mind, lots of applications try to create wallets that are compatible with their mobile devices taking advantage of the users who use android.

I am actually guilty of this since my BTCs are still stored inside a local exchange application on my wallet. Though I am looking forward in purchasing a hardware wallet to increase maximum safety of my coins.

There are several reasons why people may choose to keep money on their phone. One reason is convenience. With a mobile payment app or digital wallet, people can easily make payments and transfer money using their phone, which can be more convenient than carrying cash or using a physical debit or credit card.

You make it seem like the people really wanted to give their bitcoin or coins to the hacker, it's not like that they handed it freely.

Actually, that's the thing. People are already accustomed to hold some of their coins on some applications/wallets and there's a reason for that. Some are spending and using it on a weekly/daily basis and it's not that they are really hodling it by using a prone-to-hack storage. By now, people already know what to do about their coins and only hold big chunks of coins in a cold storage where it is really safe.

Actually no. Oceans are made of droplets. It's easier to make a malicious Android wallet, for example, or send phishing mails, or make a clipboard malware and steal whatever you find than target the rich.
Or you think the hacker will say "oh, I've hacked this one, but it's only 10$, I'll leave it"?


Windows is also very unsafe and people keep their bitcoin there too. Sometimes even on pirated Windows and/or pirated antivirus.
On the other hand... there are wallets on Android that work with hardware wallets. I think that it's one valid option.

Like everything else, the world of smartphones and especially that of Android must be used in the right way.  Obviously, if you can barely use a social network like instagram, Bitcoin will probably never be the right technology for you and therefore it would be right for that kind of person to only use totally custodial wallets.  But if you can use your smartphone with ease and you are very attentive to your privacy then you should know that Android like Ios are not the right accessories and you should begin to appreciate Graphene OS for example.

I think it is more on convenience purposes why some people are still holding coins via their smartphones.
I can understand such practice if you have like regular need of coins but for long-term holding,
not advisable to store it in your wallet within your phone. You are subjecting yourself to potential hacks.
People will only learn their lessons if they are screwed by these fraudsters. Until then, they will do what they want to do.
Some lessons are expensive, we can read it again and again, and yet many are still neglecting simple pieces of advice.

A phone wallet shouldn't be used as your main wallet because it's pretty easy to have your phone stolen or simply lose it.
I bet that having your phone hacked through android vulnerability is going to be 100 times less common than having it stolen.

That said, I wouldn't be worried about having $100 on my phone for unexpected expenses. I usually have a phone bank app there anyway, so wherever I go I have some cash in my wallet, a fiat app on my phone and a crypto wallet. For holding I have my safely stored private keys.

Phone wallets are not the worst thing if they are encrypted and used for small amounts. What I still don’t like US that developers tell People their mobile wallet is safe. But who would say his wallet is not safe.

If to be honest I still don't have a hard wallet till date because apart from the problem for my area still not sure about bitcoin I am also quite hesitant to buy it on local ecommerce and if buying from overseas it definitely costs more to charge send it so that when I see something like that, I don't want to use a wallet that can be accessed on a smartphone or PC.
On the other hand, even though this is a bit vulnerable, of course we also have to be aware of the condition in which the key is stored, so if we are careful, even though there is a possibility that it could be hacked, I think with our vigilance it can still be minimized and I use a wallet here. smartphone for 2 years I have been in crypto in fact I still avoid unwanted things as long as we are always alert I think everything will be fine.

When you disclosed the crypto assets you have on your phone to someone or a group of people, that's when they will think of hacking into your phone or doing the otherwise to collect your phone from you. If you haven't disclosed your crypto assets to anyone and you don't click on unknown links or try to connect your wallet with an unknown wallet address, there is no way hackers will try to hack into your phone cos they don't want to waste their time and resources on what they don't know the exact amount of crypto assets you have in your phone.