When using dotwallet, we will emphasize that users have to back up 12 words. These 12 words are very important. If there is no timely backup, it will be helpless to retrieve their digital assets in extreme cases such as the loss of mobile phone, resulting in asset loss.
So what exactly is a mnemonic? As the name suggests, mnemonics are phrases that help you record and remember.
Before we talk about mnemonics, let's talk about the private key. The private key is the most critical thing in managing and using digital currency. For all digital currency users, the private key determines the ownership. However, the private key is generally composed of 64-bit hexadecimal characters, which is a random number, difficult to understand and remember, and even when transcribing, you will get it wrong.
In most people's impression, mnemonic = private key, is the tool to import the wallet, in fact, accurate to say, mnemonic word ≥ private key, private key has 64 bits of string composition, very easy to copy wrong. If the private key is lost, your digital assets could become someone else's, or never be recovered.
Hence the mnemonic, which is an algorithm that converts those 64 characters into a series of words (English, French, Chinese, even your own dialect) designed to help users remember complex private keys.
Mnemonic words are generally composed of 12, 15, 18, and 24 words, all of which are taken from a fixed word base and generated in an algorithmic order, so users don't need to worry about typing in 12 words to generate an address.
Note the following points when backing up mnemonics:
1, try to use physical media backup, such as using a pen to copy paper, stored in a place that is easy to think of and hidden. Don't use your mobile phone screenshots to save them in the album or store them on the Internet, and don't transmit them over the network to prevent them from being stolen by hackers. It is not recommended to use hard disk storage such as U disk, because U disk is likely to be damaged or even virus.
2, Verify whether the backup mnemonic is correct several times
In short, mnemonics are an important guarantee of wallet security and assets, and the only medium for everyone to retrieve their original wallet in any event. You can think of it as the "bank card password"!