With Self Recovery, you secure your wallet with your personal recovery phrase that only you control. It works like the password to your wallet: if you lose access, you enter it and you're back in. We recommend writing it down on paper or a steel plate and keeping several copies in different secret places.

Your backups are protected by your password. In the Bitalo Continuity Vault, you store this password securely, built on the Bitwarden password manager. Bitalo AG sets up the account for you, and you simply sign in with your Bitalo login. You also choose an emergency contact who gets access if something happens to you. Your password is never lost, not even for your loved ones. The Continuity Vault is available as a subscription directly in the app.

With Institutional Recovery, you set up an encrypted backup with Bitalo AG. Encryption happens directly on your phone, so Bitalo AG can never read or use your backup. If you lose access to your wallet, you verify it's really you with a bank payment from your account, just like showing your ID at the bank counter. You then get your backup back and unlock it with your password or security questions. Ideal if you don't have any guards yet.

With Peer Recovery, you choose one or more Bitalo Wallet users from your contacts as guards. Each guard keeps an encrypted backup for you that they can never read or use. If you need to recover your wallet, you meet your guard in person or in a video call and scan a QR code from their phone. Then you unlock your backup with your password or security questions. We recommend three to five guards.