When you create your Bitaroo Wallet, the app shows you a recovery phrase of 12 words. This phrase is shown once, and only once.
The recovery phrase is the master key to your Wallet. Anyone who has the words has the bitcoin. Bitaroo does not keep a copy, cannot show it to you again, and cannot recover it for you. That is not a limitation. It is what makes the Wallet genuinely yours.
How to back it up well
- Write the 12 words on paper, in order, by hand.
- Check each word as you write it. The app will ask you to confirm several of the words before the Wallet is created.
- Store the paper somewhere safe from theft, fire and water. A second copy in a second location is better still.
What not to do
- Do not photograph the phrase or take a screenshot.
- Do not store it in email, notes apps, cloud storage or a password manager that syncs online.
- Do not read it out or type it into any website or app other than the Bitaroo app itself, and only then when restoring your Wallet.
Nobody from Bitaroo will ever ask you for your recovery phrase. Anyone who does ask for it is attempting to steal from you.
If you have lost your written backup but still have the app working on your phone, your bitcoin is still safe. Create a new Wallet, back up its new phrase properly, and send your bitcoin from the old Wallet to the new one. Then remove the old Wallet. If you need help with this, contact our support team and we will walk you through it.