Storing money on Smartphone is far more secure than desktop or laptop

[onlinedragon]

So far I tested Xapo, Snapcard(BTC, LTC & Doge), Coinbase and breadwallet(cold storage) with IPhone. Most of time I use Xapo they have a nice app and good customer support.

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[Mickeyb]

But you have to also have a pass/fingerprint - code on your phone, because if it is stolen or lost, the security wont matter. Other than that, it is true that there are less viruses for phones, especially iOS phones.

You leave your fingerprints everywhere[1].

The overal idea that some device is more secure than another is nonsense. It all depends on what you want to defend against. If you do not define the attack you cant claim one is better than the other. E.g. a smartphone would usually not stand against a brute force attack, because hardly anyone[2] has a long pin. While its common or easy to have a lengthy 20+ symbol password on a laptop or desktop computer. A smartphone is more prone to shoulder surfing which is hardly an issue with a private desktop, but might be for a laptop used in public.

A desktop can be more vulnerable to viruses and malware, but this greatly depends on user behaviour. Keeping your system up to date and the same logic as with iOS applies. 0 days are expensive for all systems.

Android is far from secure.
And iOS is secure only because it avoids you to installing unwanted apps, since anything outside App Store iOS says "no".

So to put it short; you are safe from third party apps because you can't install them..
-snip-

To add to this, rooting and jail breaking is common among many because they want to install different (stolen) software from possible unsecure sources. This is not a feature that keeps a system safe, its just a feature that keeps a system safe if the user does not go against it. In the end security is an user feature, not a system feature. Always, no matter which OS or device. Well unless you special purpose hardware.


[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM8b8d8kSNQ
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvG8prWynKM

I can't agree enough with your assessment Shorena! To compare two or more different systems is ludicrous in my opinion. It all depends on too many things.

Give a fool the most secure system and he will break it, lose it or whatever. Give a smart man any option, even the less optimal and he will do good by making right choices. Simple as that!

[Hugroll]

iOS is more secure than Android btw. If you want Android with better security get the new Blackberry Priv running Android thats been out recently.

Breadwallet ceo:

RVC: I've read that mobile wallets should only be used for pocket change. How much money can I safely keep on my phone at one time?

It's ironic, because many people don't realize that their smartphones are actually the most secure computing device they own, far more secure than desktop or laptop systems. It's wallets that can be accessed from the web or desktop that should really only be used for pocket change.

An iPhone uses the same techniques of app sandboxing and enforced code signatures that dedicated hardware wallets use. The phone is also hardware encrypted so your funds are strongly protected even if it's physically stolen. The US DOJ even complains publicly that the phones are too secure. Some people prefer to keep large amounts in paper wallets, but for someone who doesn't have a strong technical knowledge of bitcoin, misunderstanding how change addresses work can result in total loss, so they're not really suitable for the general public. There was recently a $1M dollar bounty offered for a remote jailbreak of iOS, and the winner ended up having to use an exploit in the chrome app, so if we assume markets are efficient, then in theory it should be safe to keep at least $1M in breadwallet (if you don't use chrome).

I've realized before that phones are pretty dang safe, the main part i like about phone wallets is that everything is just so much more convenient than paper wallets, if i need to check the balance on my address i can just open up an app and check sending and receiving money is also way more convenient.

 But the thing i don't like about the breadwallet is its UI, it only has 2 pages and not a lot of information

[jaberwock]

But your phone can more easily be stolen or lost.

If the attacker has physical access to your device, then his work will be easier, no matter how more secure your system is.

And you'll have to backup your keys somewhere else too, so it doesn't really matters

[secone]

I have experience about web wallet and moblie wallet
oneday my ymail get hacked and i lose all of my BTC at blockchain, Bittrex and local exchanger

but my satosi at xapo still secure, basically xapo use 2fa
and 2fa only avaible at mobile aplication

now Im using xapo everyday it's more secure than blockchain or other web wallet

Im never use dekstop wallet like bitcoin core, electrum or etc.

[jaberwock]

I have experience about web wallet and moblie wallet
oneday my ymail get hacked and i lose all of my BTC at blockchain, Bittrex and local exchanger

but my satosi at xapo still secure, basically xapo use 2fa
and 2fa only avaible at mobile aplication

now Im using xapo everyday it's more secure than blockchain or other web wallet

Im never use dekstop wallet like bitcoin core, electrum or etc.

Blockchain.info and I'm almost sure all exchanges accept 2FA, but don't force the user to use it(I don't know if Xapo does), so they are not less secure at least in this point.

I like blockchain because they don't really have your private keys, so in theory they can't steal your coins even if they really want

[secone]

I have experience about web wallet and moblie wallet
oneday my ymail get hacked and i lose all of my BTC at blockchain, Bittrex and local exchanger

but my satosi at xapo still secure, basically xapo use 2fa
and 2fa only avaible at mobile aplication

now Im using xapo everyday it's more secure than blockchain or other web wallet

Im never use dekstop wallet like bitcoin core, electrum or etc.

Blockchain.info and I'm almost sure all exchanges accept 2FA, but don't force the user to use it(I don't know if Xapo does), so they are not less secure at least in this point.

I like blockchain because they don't really have your private keys, so in theory they can't steal your coins even if they really want

Im use 2fa called authy i install it on my phone and google chrome (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/authy/gaedmjdfmmahhbjefcbgaolhhanlaolb)

my Mistake is i instal 2fa at my google chrome
and hacker aces my computer use RDP

this virus called "rat"

[Carlton Banks]

Give a fool the most secure system and he will break it, lose it or whatever. Give a smart man any option, even the less optimal and he will do good by making right choices. Simple as that!

It's true. I use Android, and I feel like I've done my best to make it secure (up-to-date Cyanogenmod, no GApps/Play Store, Fennec Firefox only, VPN,  AF+ firewall etc), but I still feel like a smart guy using the crappy option  Still not picked up any malware (or lost coins) on my various phones.

I am waiting impatiently for a decent modular phone platform (Ara/Puzzlephone/Fairphone 2) with an OS that's actually designed to be secure (as opposed to one that might as well have been designed to be insecure)

[rinhunter]

I wear it during blockchain in android I have never encountered a security problem.
Bitcoin not worry we will be lost because we have to enter a pin when opening his application, but in my opinion both desktop and mobile has good security

[ROT13]

Anyone who makes this ridiculous claim, whether android or iOS has obviously never looked into the dangers associated with baseband RTOS.

[Jeremycoin]

That's actually true tho, storing your Bitcoin on a phone is secure enough. But you also have to install an AntiVirus for your phone, and you should be wary to connect to a public WiFi.

[Kakmakr]

I see my phone as a digital substitute for my normal wallet, and I will never carry around $ 1 000 000 in my normal wallet. Why would I want to carry that amount of money in a wallet anyway? A smart phone might have exploits not being revealed to the public and you could lose everything.

Loads of people have had a sim swap being done, by a company employees working with syndicates to get access to a persons mobile authentication, when they log onto their internet banking services. Why would they not do this with people, who use their phone as a digital Bitcoin wallet? 

[nydiacaskey01]

There's a lot of thief out there waiting for the right moment to steal smart phones. That's going to be the worst thing that could happen if you are using smart phone with 2FA.

[jt byte]

Being on you smartphone is more hazardous because of the use of unsecured wifi connections when you are out and about.

[mixan]

It can be as unsecure on your smart phone (iPhone is the worst since you can not configure most opinions on apple products) as it can be on your wifi at home if it is not setup properly behind a router with WP2 encryption. Always use a program that can mask your ip so it makes it harder to trace your location to keep people from hacking your connection to get your passphase.

[Miiike]

I don't know about more secure, but it is sure more convenient since we almost constantly hold our phone which means we could check our wallet at will. But I must agree with Sir Carlton Banks, the use of VPN would helps. Though I rarely use VPN when accessing wallet from either laptop or phone, but i've read some tips on facebook group for bitcoin that the use of VPN would helps secure our transaction.

[Small]

Being on you smartphone is more hazardous because of the use of unsecured wifi connections when you are out and about.

There is no risk with connecting on unsecured wifi when using Bitcoin clients.

Transactions are signed locally and broadcasted to the network using internet connection. Private keys are never sent to the network either. The attacker cannot modify the content even if the connection isn't encrypted. Modifying the transaction by changing the inputs or outputs would make it invalid and it is impossible to get the private key either.

It is possible for VPN provider to initiate a MITM attack which can capture your information nevertheless.

[bering]

i have bad habits always forget when I put my smart phone and that is why i lost my smart phone several times
and after that incident i decide will save all my important document also my money in my laptop

[bitbaby]

If it wasn't created offline it's not safe.

^This is the only golden rule one needs to follow to keep their bitcoins safe. Put maximum of your holdings in a cold wallet, keep some on your desktop wallet for day to day activity and a little on your phone for when you're away from your desktop and keep several backups of all of your wallets and that's it.

Keeping bitcoins safe is easy, don't know why do people have to make this complicated.

[foxkyu]

I think storing on desktop or laptop is more secure rather storing in my smartphone.

First factor is, smartphone can be lost so easily. Also i usually forgot where my smartphone is.

But for laptop or desktop is always using at home.