What do you need to understand first?
Wallet categories overlap. A phone app might be a custodial account or a wallet whose keys you control. A dedicated signing device still needs a recovery plan. Multisig requires signatures from separate keys and introduces coordination and backup responsibilities.
How do the wallet types compare?
- Custodial
- A service holds the keys. Recovery follows its account process.
- Mobile
- A phone provides the interface. Check custody and protect the phone.
- Desktop
- A computer provides the interface. Check custody and protect the computer.
- Hardware
- A dedicated device signs. Read its trusted display and protect its backup.
- Multisig
- Separate keys must contribute signatures. Recovery needs the required keys and setup information.
What might this look like?
You want access while away from home. A mobile wallet may suit that routine, but only after you understand the device security and recovery process. If you cannot explain those, a different label will not resolve the gap.
Where is the safety checkpoint?
How can you work through it?
Name the custody model
Ask whether you or a service can authorise spending. For an account, read the withdrawal and account-recovery rules.
Compare the devices
Mobile runs on a phone; desktop runs on a computer. Hardware separates signing from the everyday device, but you must still verify what it displays.
Describe recovery in your own words
Explain what survives a lost device. Include any extra passphrase or shared-signing information the setup needs.
Check the added coordination
For multisig, ask which keys must sign and what recovery records are required. Do not choose a more complicated arrangement just for its label.
When should you pause?
Could you explain both an ordinary payment and a lost-device recovery without guessing? If either answer depends on secrets you cannot locate safely, pause your choice.