Your seed phrase is your wallet. Whoever holds it controls the funds — and if you lose it, no one can restore your access. Not us, not anyone.
Ten minutes on this now saves everything later.
What you're backing up
When you create a Pearl wallet you're shown a seed phrase — a list of words, in order. Everything else is derived from it: every address, every key, your whole balance.
Pearl wallets are hierarchical-deterministic (HD), which means that one phrase regenerates every address your wallet has ever used. Back up the phrase and you've backed up all of it. There's nothing else to save.
How to back it up
Write it on paper
Still the best default. Pen and paper can't be hacked.
- Write the words in order, numbered.
- Print clearly. Check ambiguous letters.
- Verify against the screen twice, word by word, before closing the wallet.
- Store it somewhere dry, private, and not obvious.
Make a second copy
One copy is one fire, flood, or house move away from nothing. Keep two, in different physical locations — home and a safe deposit box, or with someone you'd trust with your money, since that is exactly what you're trusting them with.
For larger amounts
Consider a metal seed backup plate — stamped or engraved steel, resistant to fire and water. Cheap relative to what it protects.
Never do these
- Never photograph it. Phone photos sync to the cloud automatically.
- Never type it into a computer other than the wallet itself — no notes app, no document, no spreadsheet.
- Never store it in cloud storage or a password manager unless you fully understand that platform's risk. A breach becomes a total loss.
- Never email or message it to yourself.
- Never enter it on a website. No legitimate site ever asks.
- Never share it with support. We will never ask for it.
Also record these
Alongside the phrase, note:
- Which wallet you created it in — Pearl Desktop Wallet, Oyster, or another
- The date you created it
- Your passphrase, if you set one, stored separately from the seed phrase
A passphrase adds a layer of protection — but it's also required for recovery. A seed phrase without its passphrase won't restore your wallet.
Test your backup
An untested backup isn't a backup. Once you've written it down, confirm it works — see Restoring your wallet from a seed phrase. Do this while you still have wallet access, so a mistake costs you nothing.
People discover their backup was wrong at the exact moment they need it. Don't be one of them.
A checklist
- ☐ Seed phrase written on paper, in order, legibly
- ☐ Verified twice against the wallet
- ☐ Two copies, in two separate locations
- ☐ Wallet name and creation date recorded
- ☐ Passphrase stored separately, if you set one
- ☐ No digital copy anywhere
- ☐ Restore tested