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How to backup a wallet?

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YQ
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One of the features of imToken, a decentralized wallet, is that users are the sole holders of mnemonic/private key, having full control over their assets. This also means that they will lose control of their assets if the mnemonic/private key is lost. So be sure to back up your wallet and keep it safe.

There are three ways to back up a wallet, namely mnemonic, private key, and keystore.

  • Mnemonic: the mnemonic generated through imToken consists of 12 words. Using a mnemonic is the easiest way to back up a wallet among the three.
  • Private Key: it is used to generate a signature needed for transactions to prove the ownership of funds.
  • Keystore: it is an encrypted version of your private key in JSON format.

How to Back Up a Wallet?

Mnemonic is the only thing that needs to be backed up for identity wallets. Other created/imported ones should be backed up separately.

If you want to back up the mnemonic, please refer to this tutorial.

If you want to back up the private key/keystore, please follow the steps below:

  1. Click the menu button at the top left corner on the wallet page to choose the wallet that you want to back up.
  2. Click “...” at the top right corner - “Advanced” - “Export Private Key”/“Export Keystore”. Then, enter the wallet password.
    Note: given different standards imposed by public chain communities, the keystore of some wallets cannot be exported. The “Advanced” option is not available for ones that don’t support the export of their private key and keystore.
  3. Back up the private key/keystore according to the security prompts and keep them safe.

Please note that only the private key of the child address of a BTC wallet can be exported in imToken. Here are the steps:

  1. Open the BTC wallet and click “...” at the top right corner on the wallet page - “Advanced” - “Wallet Address”.
  2. Swipe left on the child address that you want to back up and enter the password.
  3. Back up the private key according to the security prompts and keep it safe.

Note:

  • You can reset the password through the mnemonic/private key if you forget it. Check out the details in What should I do if I forget my password?
  • Please carefully keep the keystore and the password since they need to be put into use at the same time.

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