What Is Decoy Phrase?

Definition

Decoy Phrase is an offline-first method with permanent storage provisioning designed to protect and back up seed phrases or sensitive text (passwords, private keys, recovery codes, and similar data) without ever storing the original data.

Instead of storing the real secret, Decoy Phrase transforms it into ordinary text that can be freely customized by the user—so it appears normal, non-suspicious, and has no meaning or value if viewed or accessed by others.

The original data can only be recovered using a separate mapping file, and the entire creation and recovery process can be performed fully offline—without servers, cloud services, or third parties.

For long-term storage, Decoy Phrase can optionally store the generated decoy text and related files in permanent storage built on Arweave. This storage is immutable by design, addressing the problem of backups that may survive physically but can still be lost, altered, or deleted over time.

Problem it solves

Decoy Phrase addresses core problems in protecting and backing up seed phrases or sensitive data:

• Traditional backups are inherently risky Seed phrases are often written down directly or stored as photos, notes, or plain files—formats that are easy to copy, steal, or read.

• Reliance on third parties increases exposure Cloud services, online password managers, and custodial solutions introduce risks such as data breaches, account lockouts, service shutdowns, or policy changes.

• Single exposure leads to total loss Once a seed phrase or sensitive secret is leaked, control over the associated assets is usually lost permanently.

• Long-term durability is poorly addressed Many backup methods focus on short-term convenience, but fail to ensure that data remains intact, unaltered, and accessible over long periods of time.

High-level explanation

Decoy Phrase works on a transform & separate principle:

• Users transform their seed phrase or sensitive text into decoy text that appears ordinary, harmless, and freely customizable.

• The system generates a mapping file—the only component that can restore the original data from its decoy text.

• Without the mapping file, the decoy text is useless.

• Without the decoy text, the mapping file is also meaningless.

No single file or component contains usable sensitive information on its own.

What Decoy Phrase is not

Decoy Phrase is not:

• A crypto wallet or wallet replacement

• An online password manager or cloud vault

• A custodial service that stores or holds users’ seed phrases

• A system that can read, access, or collect users’ secrets

• An automatic recovery service if files or passwords are lost

• A trust-based system that relies on intermediaries or administrators

If a mapping file or required password is lost, recovery is impossible by design. All responsibility and control remain entirely with the user.

Long-term vision

Decoy Phrase is designed not only for today’s security, but for decades to centuries into the future. Its long-term vision is to:

• Eliminate direct storage of seed phrases and sensitive secrets

• Treat sensitive data as something that is never seen, never shared, and never stored in full

• Use offline-first architecture to remove server and third-party risks

• Rely on immutable storage to ensure long-term availability without trust assumptions

With Decoy Phrase, sensitive digital data can remain self-sovereign, time-resilient, and private—without sacrificing user control.