Starting today, you can now backup an encrypted version of your Coinbase Wallet’s private keys to your personal cloud storage accounts, using either Google Drive or iCloud.

This new feature provides a safeguard for users, helping them avoid losing their funds if they lose their device or misplace their private keys.

Explore the open financial system with peace of mind

Since we launched Coinbase Wallet (formerly Toshi), our users have experienced the full power of an open financial system — storing their own funds and accessing them anywhere in the world.

But with that power comes great responsibility. The private keys generated and stored on your mobile device are the only way to access your funds on the blockchain. Owners of ‘user-controlled wallets’ like Coinbase Wallet sometimes lose their devices or fail to backup their 12 word recovery phrase in a safe place, thus losing their funds forever.

Now, with cloud backup, we give you the ability to store an encrypted copy of your recovery phrase on your personal cloud account. You will only have to remember a password, that you decide, in order to recover your funds. If you lose your device or get signed out of the app, you can easily regain access to your funds with the combination of your personal cloud account (iCloud or Google Drive) and your password.

Your backup is encrypted with AES-256-GCM encryption and accessible only by the Coinbase Wallet mobile app. The backup can only be decrypted using your password.*

Coinbase will not have access to your password or funds at any time, preserving your privacy and control. Your cloud backup provider will also not have access to your funds, as only you know the password that decrypts your encrypted recovery phrase.

The cloud backup feature currently supports iCloud on iOS devices and Google Drive on Android devices. We intend to add support for other cloud services in the future.

Cloud backup is optional and you have to opt-in to activate it. You will still have the option to view your recovery phrase and back it up manually as before. Because we offer cloud backup as a convenience, we recommend that users also backup their passphrase manually after activating the cloud backup service. For additional security, remember to activate Two-Factor Authentication on your personal Google or iCloud accounts to make those accounts harder for attackers to compromise.

How to activate cloud backup

When you update your Coinbase Wallet app to the latest version in the next few days, you will start to receive notifications to backup your private key to the cloud.

You can also enroll in cloud backup at any time from the Settings menu, by tapping on ‘Recovery Phrase’ and following the prompts.

We’re also introducing periodic notifications to remind you to backup your recovery phrase to the cloud or manually if you haven’t done so already.

Restoring your wallet

To restore your wallet on a new device or from a logged out state, just tap ‘I already have a Wallet’, enter the password you used to backup, and voila, your account is recovered! Note that your phone must be logged into the same Google account (Android) or iCloud account (iOS) that you originally used to backup your wallet.

Finally, if you juggle multiple wallets, no problem! Our cloud backup service supports multiple wallets so you can easily switch between accounts.

If you have only ever used the primary Coinbase app (or Coinbase.com), we encourage you to check out Coinbase Wallet. The Coinbase Wallet app is Coinbase’s user-controlled cryptocurrency wallet. With Coinbase.com, you can buy crypto and Coinbase stores it (along with your private keys) for you; with Coinbase Wallet, you store your own crypto (safeguarded by a private key that only you know). To learn more, visit our website.

We hope you enjoy using Coinbase Wallet. Your feedback helps us make Wallet better for everyone. You can reach us at wallet.support@coinbase.com.