I got it all wrong from the beginning

[BlackHatCoiner]

It's not a wallet in the conventional sense, whether it's Metamask, Electrum, MEW, Trust, Coinomi, Atomic, or any other program you consider a wallet.

Just a comment here: you should not be using any of that wallet software except Electrum. They have been suffering from security vulnerabilities and Atomic wallet even got hacked and people lost millions with no rationale given of what happened yet; https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5455045.0

Your private key or seed phrase is what makes up your wallet.

Technically speaking, a wallet is consisted of the transaction labels as well, none of which is backed by a seed phrase.

Blockchain technology is so revolutionary because of this.

Blockchain technology is mainly innovative because of the immutability it offers. Not some mnemonic standards.

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[JunaidAzizi]

LOL I've been wondering for a long that the app I have on my phone is my wallet and all that.

This is how the wallet works you just tell how it works from what is wallet to how to use it. The wallet is just like something that you usually use in your pockets for saving and collecting money the same as the digital wallet works. This wallet is not hardware and you can't touch it but you can store your all digital current in this digital wallet the most important thing in the wallet is your seeds when you have your own seeds no one steals them The only defect is if you lose your seeds that whole asset in that account was prohibited and can assess your wallet just take the example of satoshi Nakamoto millions of bitcoin were placed in his wallet but no one can even know about it and now all that bitcoin is useless

[icalical]

OP's addressing a very common misconception that often is done by Newbie, I used to be like this too at my first time learning about crypto. I really thought that those app was where I store my Coin. I used to join multiple altcoins (erc-20) bounty campaign when the ICO boom happened, and I store all of my token in an app called IMToken, one day I buy a new phone and poof I lost all my tokens because I didn't save my private key/seed phrase.

[Adbitco]

But however you need to keep your keys and seedphrase out of your phone to another device or flash drive maybe to your system...

A wallet without its private keys is just a watch-only wallet that you can't do much with. If there are no private keys, there is no signing and broadcasting transactions from that phone. And if you can't do that, then the whole mobile wallet losses its point.

You are correct!
Although i am replying based on what op said, naturally you and i knows that any wallet without private key or seedphrase is only on a watch or monitoring, but for op to be able to have access to his wallet again if actually his phone got stolen he could have copied out his private keys and seedphrase to other device so that he could be able to import them back with the private key or seedphrase to have full control of his wallet again. That was my point and nothing much.

[nakamura12]

OP's addressing a very common misconception that often is done by Newbie, I used to be like this too at my first time learning about crypto. I really thought that those app was where I store my Coin. I used to join multiple altcoins (erc-20) bounty campaign when the ICO boom happened, and I store all of my token in an app called IMToken, one day I buy a new phone and poof I lost all my tokens because I didn't save my private key/seed phrase.

Well, we are a bit different because I keep my wallet information safe and sound and untill now, I haven't lost it or getting compromised. There might be a reason why you did it but in my case, I was told to keep it safe and secured because if someone gas access to it then that person will have access to the wallet and may be able to steal your funds. If that happens then better solution is to create a new wallet and abandon the old one for safety and your funds will no longer be stolen unless it is compromised too.

[HajiBagi]

Yes thats how it worked actually. As long as you have the seed phrase kept somewehere else besides the phone you used then you can always plug in that on new device and check your wallet. Sometimes having it written on a piece of paper and securing it is much better than save it somewhere online. Thats a back up plan that everyone must be accustomed too.

I believe you are correct that writing it down and secure it is much better than saving it online because I have seen many people who save many of their private keys online and after changing their phone lost their phone it affects them, many people save it on their Gmail and sometimes they forget the Gmail password, and some people save it in there phone and after they lost their phone or changed it they will forget it. And as you well know, humans have a tendency to forget things because we cannot keep everything in our heads because doing so would be excessive. Therefore, it is best to write down important information and save it safely.

OP's addressing a very common misconception that often is done by Newbie, I used to be like this too at my first time learning about crypto. I really thought that those app was where I store my Coin. I used to join multiple altcoins (erc-20) bounty campaign when the ICO boom happened, and I store all of my token in an app called IMToken, one day I buy a new phone and poof I lost all my tokens because I didn't save my private key/seed phrase.

Even last week, I came across at least two individuals who misplaced their private key and are currently without access to it due to changing phones. They both have tokens to receive in some bounties they completed in the near future, which is the most painful aspect of it. I did not lose the private key, but I can still feel the pain because losing something important from your wallet is painful. This incident also affected some people who were knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies. I would also like you to know that nobody is perfect and that everyone makes mistakes in life. What we should remember is that mistakes are part of life and what we should do is to inspire them to maintain their security, which I think will benefit even some beginners.

[Pmalek]

I used to be like this too at my first time learning about crypto. I really thought that those app was where I store my Coin. I used to join multiple altcoins (erc-20) bounty campaign when the ICO boom happened, and I store all of my token in an app called IMToken, one day I buy a new phone and poof I lost all my tokens because I didn't save my private key/seed phrase.

What did you think would happen once you changed phones? I have heard of ImToken but don't know anything about the wallet. I am guessing it's non-custodial. While you were setting it up, you were surely given instructions to back up the seed or private keys, and it's not an account-based custodial service. By switching to a new phone, you have to re-enter and import certain information to gain access to your coins. If it's not an account protected by an email and password (which ImToken probably never asked you about), the only identifiable information is the one displayed to you during the setup stage. 

[decodx]

OP's addressing a very common misconception that often is done by Newbie, I used to be like this too at my first time learning about crypto. I really thought that those app was where I store my Coin. I used to join multiple altcoins (erc-20) bounty campaign when the ICO boom happened, and I store all of my token in an app called IMToken, one day I buy a new phone and poof I lost all my tokens because I didn't save my private key/seed phrase.

But you could still use your IMToken wallet on your old phone, right? You wouldn't automatically lose all your tokens just because you bought a new phone, even if you didn't save your private key or seed phrase.  Just fire up that old phone, and you're back in business. unless, of course, your old phone is lost or destroyed and you can no longer use it.

[Alpha Marine]

I didn't know you could just put your seed phrase in any wallet. So you can have one seed phrase for different wallets?

But I feel this is not too safe. Isn't this somehow like having the same password for different accounts on your phone?
If somebody succeeds in getting one of your passwords then they have access to several of your accounts.
If whoever is trying to hack you or steal from you somehow gets the seed phrase to one wallet, they have access to all your wallets.

[AYOBA]

it best practice to always lock your important apps with password or finger print. Also ensure all security setup on the wallet is activated. This will secure your wallet from intruders if the phone get loss. If you have private key without a high security measure, the new holder of the phone can enter your wallet and transfer your asset.

It is not recommended, to store some of the important information inside the app lock, particularly a private key and wallet address. What if many of your pals have access to your phone and know all of your passwords? Not all of your friends are trustworthy. What do you believe will occur? They will measure that they  have access to your app, where you will keep all of the relevant information.Your wallet will eventually be empty since their next goal will be to figure out how to acquire access to it.

[Zoomic]

OP's addressing a very common misconception that often is done by Newbie, I used to be like this too at my first time learning about crypto. I really thought that those app was where I store my Coin. I used to join multiple altcoins (erc-20) bounty campaign when the ICO boom happened, and I store all of my token in an app called IMToken, one day I buy a new phone and poof I lost all my tokens because I didn't save my private key/seed phrase.

I am sorry about your sad experience, although it happened years ago but it is something sad to remember. Everyone has their version of stories to tell. This industry is wide and also technical, it takes consistency to be accustomed to the happenings here.
Do you care to know what I and my friend did before I corrected it. My friend had the feelings that his Trust wallet seed phrase is leaked. I downloaded another wallet for him and still imported same seed phrase into the new wallet, still maintaining the Trust wallet seed phrase. Can you imagine how naive?

[BitDane]

It is not an option to produce, but if the wallet does not give you a private key, it is most likely closed source and therefore you cannot trust it. Avoid using any closed source wallet, it is not well audited and there is no option to extract the private key.
As mentioned above, to enhance the security of your account, try to reduce exposure of seeds to the Internet or include them in other wallets.

If the wallet does not give us private key, then it is not our wallet. Regardless whether it is an open source or closed source.  Without any private key we do not have 100% access to our coins. I greatly agree that we must avoid using these kinds of wallet because  these kinds of wallet can forbid us to access our coins once the creator of the wallet decided to commit a rug pull. It is the same with the saying "not your keys not your coins"

[BRINIRHA]

Misunderstandings among beginners are common. In fact, I personally used to be one of those people who also misunderstood crypto wallets. Even worse, I used to think that saving on a centralized exchange and in my personal wallet was equally safe. Only after I learned everything did I start to understand the real concept. And then I started using my personal wallet and of course I also copied my Mnemonic Phrases onto paper. I avoid saving mnemonic phrases in a file on the computer. I prefer to copy them manually by handwriting on paper. I feel it is much safer.

[icalical]

I used to be like this too at my first time learning about crypto. I really thought that those app was where I store my Coin. I used to join multiple altcoins (erc-20) bounty campaign when the ICO boom happened, and I store all of my token in an app called IMToken, one day I buy a new phone and poof I lost all my tokens because I didn't save my private key/seed phrase.

What did you think would happen once you changed phones?

Nothing, obviously, I forgot the details, but it was like only my 3rd month learning about crypto, so yeah, I was pretty stupid back then.

OP's addressing a very common misconception that often is done by Newbie, I used to be like this too at my first time learning about crypto. I really thought that those app was where I store my Coin. I used to join multiple altcoins (erc-20) bounty campaign when the ICO boom happened, and I store all of my token in an app called IMToken, one day I buy a new phone and poof I lost all my tokens because I didn't save my private key/seed phrase.

But you could still use your IMToken wallet on your old phone, right? You wouldn't automatically lose all your tokens just because you bought a new phone, even if you didn't save your private key or seed phrase.  Just fire up that old phone, and you're back in business. unless, of course, your old phone is lost or destroyed and you can no longer use it.

Yeah, I did a hard reset on the phone, because my mom want to use that, so I all the app is gone on the old phone.


Seems like I need to clarify that this event happened like 3-4 years ago, and it's like my 3rd month learning about crypto.

[Pmalek]

So you can have one seed phrase for different wallets?

The wallets are not different, it's the same wallet replicated across multiple devices or software thanks to its seed or private keys. Your coins are never in any of the wallets you use. The wallets only store keys. These keys are digital in nature, so you can import and export them elsewhere. You can replicate the keys to your house multiple times, but they still unlock that one door where you live and not different houses.

[JunkieMiner]

it best practice to always lock your important apps with password or finger print. Also ensure all security setup on the wallet is activated. This will secure your wallet from intruders if the phone get loss. If you have private key without a high security measure, the new holder of the phone can enter your wallet and transfer your asset.

Securing your is the most important. Login to your wallet on different phones is not too idea, if you will do that, make sure it's your phone, else you stand the risk of been hacked.

Mostly some apps have a watermark on their front. When people use it they don't want to come the watermark on their front. So, they just download a crack for it, and when they download a crack for it, it requires their email or some malware that simply hacks their laptop, their mobile phone, or any other device they are using. In this way, most of the users are being scammed, and their wallet passwords which are stored in their email stolen.