Memorizing is actually riskier in my opinion. No matter how good our memory is it will eventually fade and if you forget even one word you'll lose access. But if you memorize it and also create a backup by writing it down on paper or metal it's much more reliable. I mean, don't rely solely on memorization as our memories can fade over time as we age.
Using memory to remember and back up your wallet seed phrase is very risky because you can lose your memory anytime, lose your life, and if there is no physical wallet backups, your bitcoin will be lost forever as there is no way to recover the wallet and access your bitcoin.
Yes. Avoid storing passphrases online or on your phone, as online storage is highly vulnerable to hacking while on your phone you risk losing your phone. Essentially, wherever you store your passwords is crucial be extra careful and always have a backup. That's crucial.
Online space is very dangerous with many threats that can compromise your devices, wallets, and steal your bitcoins.
Memory and online backup are two of many risky backup methods that are warned as not good backup methods.
How to back up a seed phrase?Seed Backup Threat Model
We already know why we are creating seed backups - to protect against loss of whatever devices (if any) we are storing the keys on for regular use. But what do we need to worry about protecting the backups themselves against?
Loss due to destruction
Loss due to complexity / not being able to restore from backup
Loss to an attacker