Backing up your Recovery Passphrase

How to back up your Recovery Passphrase

It is extremely important to securely back up your 25-word recovery passphrase for each Algorand account you create. Your 25-word passphrase is the only way to regain access to your account if you logout from the App, get a new phone or laptop, or lose access to your wallet in any way.

Before you start, ensure you have a basic understanding of:
How the blockchain works
What an Algorand account is

Let's say that you find yourself in one of the following situations:

◾️ You drop your phone or laptop and it gets destroyed
◾️ Your phone or computer is stolen or lost
◾️ Your Pera Wallet app gets deleted from your phone
◾️ Your browser cache gets wiped
◾️ You change your preferred browser on your computer
◾️ You forget your PIN or passcode for Pera Wallet
◾️ You've memorized the recovery passphrase but one day you wake up and can't remember it!

If you don't have your 25-word recovery passphrase securely stored, you will lose access to all your accounts and their funds. While these situations may seem unlikely, they happen frequently and could happen to you. The good news is, if you have your 25-word passphrase, you will be able to regain access to the associated account.

What is a Recovery Passphrase?

A recovery passphrase is a string of 25 words that gives you access to an Algorand account. The passphrase allows you to import the associated account to a wallet like Pera, from where the person importing it has full control of its funds and assets. This means, if someone get access to your recovery passphrase they will have total control over your account. They can move your assets to their own account, make transactions from your account or rekey the whole account to another.

Never give someone your passphrase. If someone asks you for your passphrase, they are definitely a hacker or bad actor. No-one from Pera will ever ask you for your passphrase.

Backing up your recovery passphrase during account creation

When you create an Algorand Account with Pera Wallet, you'll be prompted to create a backup of your 25-word recovery passphrase:

On Mobile:



On Web:



🚨 The following information will be updated with the upcoming release of the Algorand Secure Backup feature.

You should store the passphrase at this point. The recommended procedure is:
Store the passphrase in a plaintext file, locally encrypt the file and store it in a password manager like 1Password
If you ever need to restore the account, locally decrypt the file and enter the passphrase into Pera Wallet

Other less secure options for passphrase storage include:
Writing the passphrase down on a piece of paper
Saving the passphrase in a secure place (like a password manager) in plain text

The following methods are insecure and should not be used:
Taking a screenshot of the passphrase that will be automatically uploaded to the Cloud (eg. iCloud)
Storing the passphrase somewhere like Documents or as a screenshot in Photos
Texting or emailing yourself the passphrase

What happens if I lose my recovery passphrase?

If you don't securely store your recovery passphrase and you lose access to your accounts in your wallet (eg. you lose your phone or your device gets damaged), you will lose access to your accounts and their funds for ever. Pera Algo Wallet is a non-custodial wallet, meaning that you (and only you) have control over your account and the assets in it.

Pera does not store your passphrase and has no way to assist you if you lose access to your accounts.

Only the person who has the 25-word passphrase can access the wallet account. However, with this power comes responsibility. If you lose your 25-word recovery passphrase that unlocks the account, no one can recover it for you.

How can I see the recovery passphrase of an account after creation?

If you have accounts in your Pera Wallet that are not backed up, you can view their passphrase and back them up at any time.

On Mobile:

From the Home Screen, tap the account name

From here, tap the "More" button with three dots:



From here, tap "View Passphrase". Ensure your screen is private and not exposed:




View your passphrase and store your it securely as listed above

On Web:
Click the three dots next to the account you want to back up, and click "View Passphrase":



Enter your passcode

View your passphrase and store your it securely as listed above

Updated on: 24/04/2023