Seed Phrase Backup on Paper, Encrypted
Your recovery seed phrase is the master key to your crypto wallet: whoever holds those words holds the funds. SecurePaper lets you keep it on paper — offline, cheap, reproducible — without the fatal flaw of plaintext: encrypt it in your browser first, then print it as QR codes that are unreadable without your passphrase.
The problem with how seed phrases are usually stored
Every common option for storing a seed phrase compromises on something concrete:
- The card from the wallet box, filled in by hand. Offline, yes — but anyone who finds it can restore your wallet in minutes. It usually lives in a drawer.
- A photo or note in the cloud. A screenshot of a seed phrase in a synced photo library or notes app is readable by anyone who compromises that account — and it is exactly what attackers search for.
- A password manager. Reasonable, but it puts the seed back online and concentrates it behind a single vendor and a single master password.
- A stamped metal plate. Excellent against fire and water — and still plaintext. Physical discovery remains a total loss.
The recurring gap: offline storage is readable by whoever finds it, and unreadable storage tends to be online. Encrypted paper closes that gap.
How it works with SecurePaper
- 1
Open the seed phrase template
The Wallet seed phrase template gives you a numbered word list plus fields for the wallet name, type, and optional 25th-word passphrase, so nothing gets forgotten or written out of order.
- 2
Choose passphrase protection
For seed phrases, passphrase mode is the natural fit: the encryption key is derived from a passphrase you remember (PBKDF2), and nothing is stored anywhere — not in your browser, not in any cloud. A random key kept locally is also available if you prefer.
- 3
Encrypt in your browser
The words are encrypted with AES-256-GCM using your browser's built-in WebCrypto API. The plaintext never leaves your device. Details are on the security page.
- 4
Print the QR codes — twice
Print the encrypted QR codes and store two copies in separate locations. Because the paper is unreadable without the passphrase, extra copies increase resilience without increasing risk.
Why encrypted paper wins here — and where it doesn't
Versus plaintext paper or the wallet-box card
Same cost, same offline benefit — but a found SecurePaper printout exposes nothing. A found plaintext card exposes everything. This is the clearest win.
Versus metal seed plates
Honest answer: metal beats paper on fire and flood resistance, full stop. What metal cannot do is survive discovery — the words are right there. If durability worries you, print two or three encrypted copies, keep them in different buildings, and laminate them or use a fireproof pouch. Some people do both: a metal plate in a bank safe deposit box, encrypted paper copies at home.
Versus cloud storage and password managers
Anything synced online is one account compromise away from exposure, and a seed phrase is the highest-value string an attacker can find. Encrypted paper is air-gapped: there is no server to breach and no account to phish. The trade-off is convenience — recovering from paper means scanning codes, which is fine for something you should rarely need to touch.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to store a seed phrase on paper?
Plain paper is safe from hackers because it is offline, but anyone who physically finds it — a burglar, a visitor, a curious family member — can drain the wallet immediately. Encrypting the seed phrase before printing keeps the offline benefit while making the paper unreadable without your passphrase or key.
What happens if I forget the passphrase?
The backup becomes unrecoverable — that is the design. In passphrase mode, SecurePaper stores nothing anywhere: the encryption key is re-derived from your passphrase with PBKDF2 each time. Choose a passphrase you can reliably remember or store a copy of it in a genuinely separate secure place.
Does my seed phrase ever leave my browser?
No. Encryption happens in your browser with AES-256-GCM using the WebCrypto API. The plaintext is never sent to a server, and in passphrase mode not even a key is stored — the QR codes you print are the only output.
Paper burns — is a metal seed plate better?
For fire and flood resistance, yes: stamped metal plates genuinely outlast paper. But metal plates hold the seed in plaintext, so anyone who finds one owns the wallet. Encrypted paper solves confidentiality; durability is solved by printing two or three copies, storing them in separate locations, and laminating them or using a fireproof document pouch.
What if SecurePaper shuts down — can I still decrypt?
Yes. The data format is openly documented on the security page, and a standalone offline decryptor — a single HTML file you can download and keep — decrypts your QR codes in any browser without SecurePaper existing at all.
How do I recover the seed phrase later?
Scan the printed QR codes with the SecurePaper decrypt page or the offline decryptor file, enter your passphrase (or key), and the seed phrase is decrypted locally in your browser. From there you restore the wallet as usual.
Back up your seed phrase in five minutes
Free, no account needed, and the words never leave your browser.
Start from the Wallet seed phrase template — free, no account neededNew to SecurePaper? Read the step-by-step guide or the security model first. For a comparison of every backup method, see seed phrase backup options compared.