Every Phantom wallet is built on a public and private key pair. Your public key is your wallet address. It's visible on the blockchain and safe to share. Your private key authorizes transactions and proves ownership of your funds. It should never be shared.
It’s practically impossible to derive your private key from your public address. That’s why your funds remain secure even though your address is public.
Your private key is accessed through your recovery method: either a Secret Recovery Phrase or a Google/Apple account and PIN.
Recovery phrase wallets
Your wallet is secured by a Secret Recovery Phrase, a unique sequence of 12 words permanently linked to your wallet at the blockchain. The recovery phrase cannot be changed. If it is lost, access to your wallet and funds cannot be restored. Anyone with your recovery phrase can fully control your wallet. Never share it with anyone, including Phantom Support. Only enter it when restoring a wallet.
Email wallets (Google or Apple)
You can create a wallet using your Google or Apple account, secured with a four-digit PIN.
This wallet is still self-custodial. Phantom doesn’t have access to your private keys or your funds. Your PIN protects access to your wallet on your device. If you lose your PIN and cannot recover access, your funds cannot be restored. Do not share your PIN with anyone, and do not forget it.
Device-level protections
On mobile, your wallet is protected by your device's authentication, such as Face ID or fingerprint. On the browser extension, your wallet is protected by a password. These protections secure access on your device. They do not replace your recovery method.
Built-in protections
Phantom also includes features designed to help reduce common security risks:
- Transaction previews show details of what you’re about to sign and flag suspicious activity before you approve it.
- Scam and spam protection allows you to report, hide, or burn unwanted tokens and NFTs.
- A blocklist warns you before interacting with known malicious sites and domains.
The most important thing to know
Phantom is a self-custodial wallet. That means you are responsible for protecting your recovery method and carefully reviewing every transaction you sign. Transactions on the blockchain cannot be reversed. Lost credentials cannot be recovered.
Phantom Support cannot restore access to your wallet or reverse transactions.