Valora recovery phrase
A Valora recovery phrase is a set of 12 or 24 words used to derive the wallet's private keys and restore access to the same wallet address. Anyone who obtains the phrase can control the wallet's funds, so secure a copy before adding funds.
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The phrase provides recovery beyond the installed app. The PIN authorizes actions within Valora, while optional Email & Phone Backup provides another way to recover the phrase when that backup has been configured and its required factors remain accessible.
Words, private keys, and the PIN
A Recovery Phrase is also called a seed phrase or mnemonic. Its relationship to the private keys explains why keeping the words private is as important as protecting access to the app.
- Private key
- A secret represented by letters and numbers that gives control over tokens at a blockchain address. The Recovery Phrase is used to derive the key.
- PIN
- Valora's authorization code for actions such as viewing the Recovery Phrase, changing the PIN, and signing transactions. A transaction may not trigger another PIN prompt if the PIN was entered recently.
Keeping the PIN alone does not provide a replacement for the Recovery Phrase or a configured recovery backup. Valora support cannot retrieve a lost readable copy of the phrase.
Manual backup and Email & Phone Backup
A manual backup keeps a copy of the words under your control. Record the phrase as displayed and store it privately, separately from the phone used for Valora. A secure physical copy remains available independently of the device. An online copy needs encryption and protection against access by others.
Email & Phone Backup is an optional additional recovery method. It requires both an email-provider sign-in and phone-number verification. Web3Auth supports the email authorization factor, while Valora controls the phone authorization factor.
With this feature, Valora stores an encrypted Recovery Phrase in its database. It does not store the phrase as readable words and cannot decrypt it by itself. Recovery through this backup depends on having all required authorization factors.
Existing wallets can begin backup setup under Settings > Security & Privacy > Email & Phone Backup. Confirming the number for this feature is separate from connecting a number for contact payments. If backup setup cannot be completed, use a manual backup and try the optional setup again later.
Recovery with a completed backup
In this hypothetical case, Email & Phone Backup provides a recovery route after the owner's original phone becomes unusable and their manual phrase copy is lost. Assume that the backup was fully configured beforehand and the owner can still complete the original email sign-in and verify the original phone number.
Those two factors allow the owner to decrypt the backed-up phrase and restore access to the existing wallet address. If the owner had only linked the number for contact payments, that connection would not provide an Email & Phone Backup. Without another usable phrase copy or configured backup, verifying the payment number alone would not restore wallet access.
Backup changes after a reset
Changing the email-and-phone combination requires deleting the existing backup setup and configuring it again. If Valora has been reset or uninstalled since that backup was created, deleting it requires restoration with the correct email-and-phone combination. Restoring with the Recovery Phrase in that situation does not allow editing of the existing Email & Phone Backup.
What restoration preserves
Valora uses the Recovery Phrase to access the wallet address across multiple supported blockchain networks. Restoring access does not move tokens between networks or merge balances that share a ticker. Each asset remains on its own network.
A restored address and a visible token balance are separate matters. A token on a supported network that is not listed in Valora may be accessible through Import Token. An asset on a network that Valora does not support may require another compatible self-custodial wallet that supports that network; restoration does not give every wallet application the same token coverage.
The blockchain address and recorded transactions persist when the app is removed. Locally stored profile names and photos are deleted on uninstall and are not restored when the wallet address is recovered.
Lost or exposed recovery information
Permanent loss becomes a risk when the wallet is no longer accessible and neither a usable phrase copy nor a functioning configured backup remains. A support request cannot recreate the missing words.
An exposed phrase compromises control of the derived keys. Valora's phishing guidance calls for moving remaining funds from a compromised wallet to an uncompromised address. Restoring the compromised address on another device preserves the same underlying access; it does not remove an attacker's knowledge of the phrase or reverse completed blockchain transactions.