# Safety first — You & your secret phrase By [needfulBuck0](https://paragraph.com/@needfulbuck0) · 2022-04-22 --- If you’re new to the world of crypto, it’s likely that the term ‘secret phrase’ doesn’t mean a lot to you. You may also have heard it called a ‘seed phrase’, ‘12-word seed’, ’12 word phrase’, ’12 words backup’, ‘mnemonic phrase’, or ‘recovery seed.’ When you’ve heard those terms, you might have thought, “Oh, it’s just a password, right? Like I use on Twitter? And I can reset it anytime I want?” But you couldn’t have been more wrong. Your secret phrase is much, much more than a mere password — it’s the key to YOUR world in crypto. Your secret phrase is the one thing that will preserve and guarantee access to your funds, your contacts, your messages, your NFTs, and whatever else you hold in your wallet. Sounds pretty powerful… Your secret phrase is a randomly generated password of 12 words that you will receive when you create a Sylo Smart Wallet account. When a wallet address is created, so is a unique secret phrase. This is used to make transactions and prove ownership of the funds in the address (your wallet) You will need your secret phrase any time you want to access your wallet account. For example, if you log out of your Sylo Smart Wallet, if your phone crashes and restarts, if you want to transport another wallet address into your Sylo Smart Wallet, if you’d like to log into your Sylo Smart Wallet from another device (for example, a new phone), if there is a major update to the Sylo Smart Wallet which requires you to log back in, if you’ve forgotten your PIN (it happens!), or if you have more than one account and you’d like to log in again to a specific one of them (remember, you’ll have different secret phrases for each of your accounts). In short — Everything! To use it, you must enter your secret phrase fully and correctly — that means, each word in correct order, spelled correctly and with no words missing. The best option for storing your secret phrase is on paper, somewhere only you have access to. Write it down carefully on paper and keep it somewhere secure and tangible like a safe, private drawer or in a safe deposit box. Don’t show your secret phrase to anyone, unless you want them to have access to your funds and make sure to ‘back up’ (write down and store) your secret phrase before you put any funds in your wallet to ensure that you won’t accidentally lose access. Well as we all know, the internet can be a wild place. Getting hacked is always a possibility. This is why you should never store your secret phrase in a digital format, or else you risk losing your funds. Here’s a quick guide to where you should NOT store your secret phrase: * the notepad of your computer or phone- in a chat message- as images on your laptop/mobile/tablet- in file sharing services like Dropbox, MegaBox, OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, etc- in an email draft- in word/excel/ppt files- in password protected files- on a USB drive * The Sylo Smart Wallet is decentralised and built on a foundation of blockchain technology. Blockchain infrastructure and information relay on blockchain networks is distributed (decentralised) which is what makes it secure and therefore a great tool for transactions. * The Sylo Smart Wallet was built with privacy at the forefront, so when the distributed nature of blockchain infrastructure is combined with the other decentralised technologies we harness to make our app the special mix that it is, it also means that secret phrase recovery is not an option. * You may have heard us say before that we couldn’t look over our users’ shoulders even if we wanted to? We really mean that. * In centralised chat apps (for eg, Facebook Messenger), your conversations/the assets you own/the information you share might be private between you and other users, but there is no privacy between you and the provider. They see and have access to everything, which is why they can reset your password, as well as read every message and see every picture you’ve ever sent to anyone. * Kind of a creepy trade-off, right? * Not even if you ask us nicely. Not even if you really want your secret phrase back. It’s just not how we’re made! * Watch this video to learn how to back up your secret phrase > * We hope that this has helped you realise that you’re keen and ready to keep your secret phrase safe! * — * Do you have any further questions about the Sylo Smart Wallet? * We would love to hear from you. Send any queries to us now via DM on Twitter or Telegram. * Experience the Sylo Smart Wallet now by downloading from the Google Play or Apple App stores. * For further announcements, follow Sylo on Twitter, Telegram or visit [www.sylo.io](http://www.sylo.io) * --- *Originally published on [needfulBuck0](https://paragraph.com/@needfulbuck0/safety-first-you-your-secret-phrase)*