# Your Recovery Phrase

When you set up a KeepKey, the device shows you a list of **12 or 24 simple words** — your **recovery phrase** (also called a *seed phrase* or *mnemonic*). This is the most important thing you will ever write down in crypto.

## The phrase *is* the wallet

Those words are a human-readable form of the master secret that **every** key and address in your wallet is mathematically derived from. That has two consequences:

- **Whoever has the words owns the wallet — forever.** Anyone who reads them can recreate your entire wallet on any compatible device and take everything. There is no second factor.
- **The words are your only backup.** Lose the device and your funds are safe — you restore the wallet onto a new KeepKey (or any compatible wallet) from the phrase. Lose the *phrase* with no working device, and the funds are gone permanently.

The device is replaceable. The phrase is not.

## An open standard: BIP-39

KeepKey doesn't use a secret KeepKey-only format. The phrase follows **BIP-39**, an open industry standard, and the keys derive along the **BIP-32/BIP-44** standards. That means your phrase is **portable**: if KeepKey vanished tomorrow, you could recover the same wallet on another BIP-39 wallet. You're not locked in to any vendor — a core part of KeepKey's [open philosophy](/docs/security).

## The backup rules

- **Write it on paper** (or stamp it in metal). Store it somewhere safe and private.
- **Never type it into a computer or phone**, never photograph it, never put it in a password manager, cloud drive, or email. The moment it touches an internet-connected device, treat it as compromised.
- **No legitimate person or app will ever ask for it.** Anyone who does is trying to rob you — see [Staying Safe](/docs/learn/staying-safe).
- **Test recovery before funding** a large amount, so you know your backup is correct.

## On your KeepKey

- KeepKey displays the phrase **once**, on the device screen only, during setup — never on your computer. The step-by-step is in [Set Up Your KeepKey](/docs/desktop/setup) and [Recovery Phrase](/docs/desktop/recovery-phrase).
- Want extra protection beyond the words? A [passphrase](/docs/learn/pin-and-passphrase) adds a secret that's never stored on the device.
- Advanced: one phrase can deterministically generate many separate child wallets with [BIP-85](/docs/desktop/bip85).