What is the best way to store your seed phrase?

[headingnorth]

It is estimated between 4 to 6 million bitcoins have been lost forever because people lost the physical copy of their seed phrase. So I don't agree that storing offline is necessarily safer, at least not for me.

Storing online can be a safer option depending on how you do it, also depending on your specific needs and situation and technical ability.
For example billions of people use password managers to store extremely sensitive password information which are rarely if ever hacked.

With that kind of track record that tells me password managers are generally pretty safe. But some are better than others,  
Do your own research but in general I would only use password managers that are fully open source and reputable.

Always make sure you use bitcoin's hidden wallet or passphrase feature (always stored separately from your seedphrase) so in the event someone ever gets a hold of your seedphrase
it will be useless to them without knowing the passphrase.  You can even have both a physical copy and online backup of your seed phrase.

[avp2306]

You should know that any online application is risky option to store your private key since there are great minded hackers could penetrate that also we don't know if the owner of the platform will perform that hacking without us or any other people knowing.

Also any offline places should be fine so make sure you have full control on the environment where you store your seed phrase so that you can avoid to lose it.

But also remember that its really up to the user on how they can make their seed phrase safe and if they are aware on all risk then for sure they can avoid any methods or risk which is known or used by hackers.

[coinerer]

It may vary in location. one can keep it in a pen drive, one can keep it in his pc or smartphone, and one can write it in a diary. But the whole purpose is to store it safely because if we don't have the wallet key, there will be no wallet and no bitcoins.  So a non-custodial wallet should be used to keep bitcoins safe and the wallet should be kept private.  I use 2 methods one is to write in diary other way is to keep in pen drive. So op you can use method according to your convenience

[HajiBagi]

The best way to store your seed phrase is offline. Aside that online would be regarded unsafe no matter how careful you claim to be.when it comes to offline storage there is actually no best way because the best way is that which you can store it offline without a third party knowing about it.This is because every individual has his special way of storing their seed phrases offline.
so writing on papers or engraving on stone and many others doesn't really matter so long the seed is as safe as possible.

I've looked over what you said several times, and I think you're right. While many people will think that storing your seed phrase online is the best option because that's what they can do, I think that storing it offline is the best option as well. Online stores are never safe, even if they aren't careless. Someone will eventually be able to access your online store, which includes Gmail and this entire store. The only point that someone could make against my online store is that, in order to keep it secure, you should prevent people from accessing your phone or computer or from clicking on any links that you receive from scammers.

Getting a paper and writing down your seed phrase is the best option because you can even give people your phone and, no matter how cunning they are, they won't be able to locate it. Additionally, if you write down your seed phrase on a paper, you won't have to worry about someone possibly finding it if your phone gets lost, stolen, or ruined; you can simply use the seed phrase to retrieve your wallet and carry on without damaging anything.

[yazher]

You should know that any online application is risky option to store your private key since there are great minded hackers could penetrate that also we don't know if the owner of the platform will perform that hacking without us or any other people knowing.

This is so true, I once encountered who can actually steal whatever info you have on your computer by just letting them control your PC via Team Viewer or any of such Apps. others are just newbies without any thought of their securities being breached easily by these hackers and they just give them access just for the sake of doubling their bitcoins which is not true. Many other factors lead to this kind of trap including the holders not having enough knowledge on how to secure their seed phrases and ending up getting hacked easily. Sometimes, they are the one who gives the hackers access to it and only know that they were fooled when they see they have been talking to the scammers all this time.

[Vinaa77]

It may vary in location. one can keep it in a pen drive, one can keep it in his pc or smartphone, and one can write it in a diary. But the whole purpose is to store it safely because if we don't have the wallet key, there will be no wallet and no bitcoins.  So a non-custodial wallet should be used to keep bitcoins safe and the wallet should be kept private.  I use 2 methods one is to write in diary other way is to keep in pen drive. So op you can use method according to your convenience

The two storage places you mentioned are very safe and we must be able to guarantee that the place where we store the two wallet keys cannot be accessed by other people and I prefer to record the wallet keys and store them in a place that is not easily known by other people and will Tell family that we can trust because if something happens to us and no one knows the key to the wallet, of course the assets we have are completely useless after we have collected them with great difficulty and cannot be used by anyone.

[wxa7115]

It is estimated between 4 to 6 million bitcoins have been lost forever because people lost the physical copy of their seed phrase. So I don't agree that storing offline is necessarily safer, at least not for me.

Storing online can be a safer option depending on how you do it, also depending on your specific needs and situation and technical ability.
For example billions of people use password managers to store extremely sensitive password information which are rarely if ever hacked.

With that kind of track record that tells me password managers are generally pretty safe. But some are better than others,  
Do your own research but in general I would only use password managers that are fully open source and reputable.

Always make sure you use bitcoin's hidden wallet or passphrase feature (always stored separately from your seedphrase) so in the event someone ever gets a hold of your seedphrase
it will be useless to them without knowing the passphrase.  You can even have both a physical copy and online backup of your seed phrase.

There is no fail-proof method to store your coins as every single one of them has inconveniences, however storing your coins online seems like a terrible idea to me, and there is a lot of evidence of this being true as the amount of fiat stolen by hackers is enormous, so any form of online storage seems inherently risky.

Now is it true that keeping an offline copy also presents risks? Yes, but compared to the online threats in which a hacker at the other side of the world could get your coins, obtaining a physical copy of your coins requires access to the place where you store them, something way easier to monitor and control.

[rodskee]

It may vary in location. one can keep it in a pen drive, one can keep it in his pc or smartphone, and one can write it in a diary. But the whole purpose is to store it safely because if we don't have the wallet key, there will be no wallet and no bitcoins.  So a non-custodial wallet should be used to keep bitcoins safe and the wallet should be kept private.  I use 2 methods one is to write in diary other way is to keep in pen drive. So op you can use method according to your convenience

Just make sure that your Diary will always be safe mate because I'm afraid that someone
may come your room and get into your diary(for some other reason and sadly will find your phrase)

i also have a written copy but not in my Diary , yet will not tell it here for my own safety.

[Lida93]

The 12-24 word seed phrase etched on a steel sheet, with 2(not split up) copies, in 2 separate locations that you have easy access to, and packaged in a way where you know if someone has gained access to either of these steel sheets; plus using a secure passphrase. That should be more than enough. Less complexity, less chance of error.

Also, personally not a fan of digitization.

Just to add to what you have already said, each of the seed phrase etched on the steel should also be numbered according in it sequence order as it appeared while creating your wallet so as to avoid mix-up and the difficulty of accounting for each orderly in the future. Another importance of the numbering, peradventure, of a sudden death by accident it makes it easy for a posterity you trust the secret to to be able to identify each phrase in the number they fall without fail.

*Steel plates are durable, more like everlasting with an anti-rusting property making it to last for even a thousand years.
*The etching can't also be wiped off by fire in the case of an arson or any domestic related fire engulfing the storage location, unlike when one may use other means of storage i.e offline paper.

[bobbybkk]

I guess you never know in what kind of circumstances you will possibly need access to your seed phrase, so maybe an online option and a couple of offline options are in order.

1) Online: of course it should not be ebvious that it is a seed phrase and on the other hand it should be simple enough so that you know yourself what the words and the order are.

Maybe as a example:  Set up a website with a couple of pics and enter the seed phrase in single words in the EXIF Data for example.  If you keep your mouth shut that this webpage even exist, this should be quite safe...

2) Offline: You should always consider that you maybe have an accident and have to stay in a hospital for some time, if you are not lucky some one cleans up the house and throws your secret passphrase in the trash or so.

Maybe you should additionally simply write a will and add a closed envelope with your passphrase and deposit it with a lawyer at a courthouse or so, this also makes sure in case you die early the  Bitcoins are not lost....

Just my thoughts about this

[apogio]

Maybe as a example:  Set up a website with a couple of pics and enter the seed phrase in single words in the EXIF Data for example.  If you keep your mouth shut that this webpage even exist, this should be quite safe...

Just my thoughts about this

Hi. This is not a very good option.
Bitcoin seed phrases should never be online. That's a must.
Specifically for the approach you mention though:
1. the website will be stored in a server.
    (a) if it's a local server, it needs to be backed-up properly, otherwise if the disk fails, the website is gone and the bitcoin as well. 
    (b) if it's a remote server, then you need to trust the owner of the server.
    (c) if it's a cloud server, then the company that provides the service will know everything about the website and of course problem (b) arises again.
2. there are websites like https://www.exifdata.com/ that will easily allow the hacker to get the seed phrase from the images.
3. there are website scrapers that search for websites and download all their contents.

Finally, the following approach is really super easy and people should just follow the easy paths:
1. generate a seed phrase in an airgapped device.
2. write it down in a piece of paper twice.
3. store the backups in 2 separate locations.
4. check them up twice a year.

[Z390]

The idea you Ave mentioned is great as it will keep the seed phrase safe and I would probably think of t if I am hodling a huge amount of crypto in a particular wallet. But at the moment it's too much of an hassle for me and as a person who had already lost seed phrase of blockchain wallet in the past by writing and keeping it somewhere I have started a simple strategy of sharing the seed phrase from my personal email to alternative email so it's there in two separate places and also uploads the same in cloud.

A stupid idea like this coming from a hero member on this forum is a big shame, how did you become a hero member without knowing that it's wrong to keep or store your recovery seed online? Even if you are using a hardware wallet, if you keep it's seed in any form of online storage, either email or cloud then you are not safe.

This is crazy and stupid, newbies are looking up to high ranking members on this forum, believing that they have passed through a lot and always know better, it's disappointing that this nonsense is coming from a hero member, wtf?
Any recovery seed or private key must stay offline, there is no better way to keep your keys safe than using offline mode, this is why airgapped wallet are the most secured, they lack the need for internet, they are always offline, may God have mercy on your soul.

[0t3p0t]

I personally wrote mine in a piece of paper and then keep it in a safe place. I also mixed those 24 words that only me knows the exact combination. I am actually planning to acquire a gun safe and I'll put it there though not right now but maybe soon when I have extra money.

[Reatim]

I personally wrote mine in a piece of paper and then keep it in a safe place. I also mixed those 24 words that only me knows the exact combination. I am actually planning to acquire a gun safe and I'll put it there though not right now but maybe soon when I have extra money.

wow that is even best way to keep them safe mixing your 24 words phrase , but my question now mate is what if one day you have come to sickness in which you cannot remember anything , who will inherit your funds knowing that you are the only one that knows the right combinations?
sorry for asking this mate because I'm just concern bout your hard earned crypto that might be gone in the air if that happens.

[kro55]

I personally wrote mine in a piece of paper and then keep it in a safe place. I also mixed those 24 words that only me knows the exact combination. I am actually planning to acquire a gun safe and I'll put it there though not right now but maybe soon when I have extra money.

wow that is even best way to keep them safe mixing your 24 words phrase , but my question now mate is what if one day you have come to sickness in which you cannot remember anything , who will inherit your funds knowing that you are the only one that knows the right combinations?
sorry for asking this mate because I'm just concern bout your hard earned crypto that might be gone in the air if that happens.

I think we're just talking about how and where to safely store seed phrases. Whether we share the seed phrase or seek to pass it on to family members is another story.

There are people who never trust anyone, whether it's their wife or their parents. For them, they would rather let those bitcoins disappear than share them with others. But there are others who are willing to share with those closest to them because whether it's bitcoin, gold or diamonds, everything we do is for family. So sharing with them is necessary.

Personally, I keep my seed phrases in a safe place, but my mom is also the one who knows where I keep them. Because I don't want my efforts to go down the drain while my relatives have to suffer poverty if something happens to me.

[Rockstarguy]

Maybe as a example:  Set up a website with a couple of pics and enter the seed phrase in single words in the EXIF Data for example.  If you keep your mouth shut that this webpage even exist, this should be quite safe...

Do you know that website can shutdown and it can be hacked by hackers, and one thing about hackers they try to hack everything even if they are not sure about the information you have in your website,  they just want to get in their to see if their is any valuable information that will benefit them. Online is not the best place to store seedphrase because anything can happen and their is no guarantee that is that very safe the way you think. One of the reasons online is not safe to store seedphrase is because you can just control what will happen at anytime. 

But when seed phrase are store offline you can decide to store and secure it in the best way that nobody can have access to except you. We are all visitors in the internet, anything can happen that can make not to have access to the account any more. The offline,  specially written note is the best place to store seed phrase because with this you can give the best security to the seed phrase just to make sure the seed phrase is safe just make your bitcoin safe.

[Marvelman]

I personally wrote mine in a piece of paper and then keep it in a safe place. I also mixed those 24 words that only me knows the exact combination. I am actually planning to acquire a gun safe and I'll put it there though not right now but maybe soon when I have extra money.

wow that is even best way to keep them safe mixing your 24 words phrase , but my question now mate is what if one day you have come to sickness in which you cannot remember anything , who will inherit your funds knowing that you are the only one that knows the right combinations?
sorry for asking this mate because I'm just concern bout your hard earned crypto that might be gone in the air if that happens.

I think we're just talking about how and where to safely store seed phrases. Whether we share the seed phrase or seek to pass it on to family members is another story.

Yes, but I think he correctly points out that any storage method that relies solely on your own memory is not good. Mixing up the seed phrase words is definitely bad practice and a common reason people lose their crypto.

Seed phrases already have an additional layer of security – a passphrase you can store separately. I don't understand why people wouldn't use it!

[sokani]

I personally wrote mine in a piece of paper and then keep it in a safe place. I also mixed those 24 words that only me knows the exact combination. I am actually planning to acquire a gun safe and I'll put it there though not right now but maybe soon when I have extra money.

wow that is even best way to keep them safe mixing your 24 words phrase , but my question now mate is what if one day you have come to sickness in which you cannot remember anything , who will inherit your funds knowing that you are the only one that knows the right combinations?

There's nothing brilliant about the idea. When it comes to seed phrase complexity should be avoided at all cost. Going the extra mile to interchange the words is not good because he could mess things up and might not be able to remember the correct words combination again. Instead of subscribing to the above seemingly brilliant idea, I'd rather split the seed phrase into two and keep them in separate locations. Though, this is not how I stored mine.

[Onyeeze]

The best way to store your seed fresh is to make sure document it by writing it down in a paper and save it to particular document as you're file we are nobody can access it so that is the possible way someone can send or store it seed phrase some people who serve their seat face online are those people that complain that someone has penetrate into their wallet so it is good to write out your seat phrase on the paper and the store it will have someone cannot see it so that in future it will not experience lost of your coin in your wallet even seven in your email is also improper because you can lost your laptop or your system and someone can easily access your email

[Dorkylickjj]

Seems to me the best way to store a seed phrase with a hardware wallet would be write your seed phrase down twice and break it into 2 parts.  Also make sure you have a passphrase for the hardware wallet.  Now you open 4 safe deposit boxes at 4 different banks.  But do so in a way where the banks are a bit far from each other... like make sure it isn't 1 mile within each other at least but preferably a lot farther away like 5 miles.


Now you put 2 copies of the 1st part of the seed phrase at 2 different safe deposit boxes at different banks.  You then put the other 2 copies of the 2nd part of the seed phrase at 2 other safe deposit boxes at 2 different banks.  You then write down your seed phrase in a piece of paper in your apartment or house.  You also enter it in a password manager that you save to a usb and the cloud.  



OR


Do the same thing with putting 2 copies of the 1st part of the seed phrase at 2 different safe deposit boxes at different banks.  You then do the same with putting the other 2 copies of the 2nd part of the seed phrase at 2 other safe deposit boxes at 2 other different banks.  You also then make 1 copy of the 1st part and 2nd part of the seed phrase for you to store at your apartment in different locations.  This time however, you only enter the passphrase to a password manager that you save to a usb and the cloud but make sure you don't write the passphrase on a piece of paper in your apartment or house.  You could also make a 2nd usb flash drive and give it to someone close to you and tell them to hold it as a backup in case something happens to your usb flash drive or something happens to your password manager in the cloud accessing it.  


You could put another usb in one of those safe deposit boxes you are using but if you do that... well you are increasing your risk since if someone got access to one part of the seed phrase and has that usb... if they somehow get into your password manager... then they have 2 out of the 3 parts of it.  So say imagine the government was to seize your safe deposit boxes, well then they have access to your seed phrase and your usb with the passphrase in your password manager in the flash drive.  Now could they always hack into it if they have your flash drive?  Or the only way would be to tell you to reveal what your usb passports is and/or the password manager password?




Would you say the 1st option is ideal?  What about the 2nd option minus the putting another usb drive in one of your safe deposit boxes?

Well, you can also use ELLIPAL mnemonic device too... 88g of metal and pocket fitting, you can check it up for more details. It's also fire, water and mold proof.
And yes if you're using paper, it should be laminated and put in safes at different locations far from each other and duplicated in case of any situations. If you're splitting the seed into parts. Remember the sequence.
However, do not take screenshots of your seed phrase. Do not type it on nom default keyboards,
Do not save it to Google drive or any cloud storage, I'm telling you.
Try the advanced phrase feature on Trezor wallet if you want.
Not every wallet itself is safe.