# Hidden Wallets (Advanced) > *"Passphrase creates a separate hidden wallet from the same seed. If enabled, you MUST remember it — a wrong passphrase opens a different empty wallet, not an error."* > > — card 3 of 3, shown after setup Hidden wallets card with passphrase toggle This is the only card in the wizard you cannot skip. It carries a live toggle — **Enable passphrase protection** — and you have to make a call before setup finishes. Either answer is fine, and both are reversible in Settings. Read this page before deciding. ## What a passphrase actually does Your recovery phrase alone produces one wallet. Recovery phrase **plus a passphrase** produces a completely different wallet — different addresses, different keys, no on-chain link to the first. The passphrase is not a password guarding a wallet. It is an **input to key derivation**. That distinction is the entire reason this card exists, because it produces one behavior that surprises everyone: **Every passphrase is valid.** There is no "wrong passphrase" error. Type `hunter2` and you get one wallet. Type `Hunter2` and you get a different, empty wallet. Type a typo and you get a third, also empty. The device cannot tell you that you made a mistake, because from its perspective you didn't — you asked for a different wallet and it derived one. If you fund a hidden wallet and then can't reproduce the passphrase **exactly** — same characters, same case, same spaces — those funds are gone. Your recovery phrase alone will not bring them back. ## Why it exists **It closes the physical gap.** KeepKey is deliberately open — no secure element, no proprietary black box, firmware anyone can audit and reproduce. That openness is the security model, and we're direct about its consequence: a sufficiently determined attacker with physical possession of the device and a lab has paths a sealed chip would complicate. A passphrase makes that irrelevant. The secret that unlocks the hidden wallet is **not on the device at all**. It's in your head. Extract everything the hardware contains and you get the base wallet — whatever you chose to leave there — and no indication that anything else exists. **It gives you plausible deniability.** Under coercion, you can unlock the device normally. The base wallet opens. It holds whatever you put there. There is no screen, no flag, and no on-device artifact that reveals a hidden wallet exists. ## How to decide, right now **Leave it off if:** this is your first hardware wallet, or you're not confident you can reproduce a string exactly, years from now, under pressure. Off is a completely reasonable default — your seed and PIN are already a strong setup. You can turn it on later, once you're comfortable. **Turn it on if:** you understand the "every passphrase is valid" behavior, you have a plan for remembering the passphrase, and you specifically want the physical-coercion protection. > *"You can turn this on or off anytime in Settings."* — the app's own hint, and it's true. Enabling it does not create a hidden wallet by itself; it means you'll be prompted for a passphrase when you unlock. Nothing is lost by choosing either way today. ## If you enable it **Choosing one:** - Long, and memorable to you. A phrase beats a random string you'll never recall. - Never reused from another account. - Careful with characters you might mistype later — trailing spaces, smart quotes pasted from a document, ambiguous case. **Backing it up:** - **Do not store it with your recovery phrase.** Together in one place they are exactly equivalent to no passphrase at all. - Memorize it, or store it in a genuinely separate location from the seed backup. - Test it: enable, enter it, note an address, unplug, reconnect, enter it again, confirm the same address. Do this **before** sending funds. **Living with it:** - Fund the base wallet with a small, plausible amount. An empty base wallet undermines the deniability story. - Reconnecting the device requires re-entering the passphrase every time. ## Related - [Passphrase](/docs/desktop/passphrase) — full behavior, multiple hidden wallets, day-to-day use - [Security](/docs/security) — why KeepKey chooses openness over a secure element - [Settings → Security](/docs/desktop/settings#passphrase) — turning it on or off later - [All setup screens](/docs/desktop/setup)