Palisade Identity: User Guide & FAQ
Welcome to Palisade Identity Wallet, your secure self-custodial wallet. This guide explains how your wallet works, how to stay safe, and what to do if you lose access to your devices.
1. How safe is my wallet?
Your wallet is secure:
- You control your wallet — we never have access to your private keys.
- Passkeys Wallet uses MPC (Multi-Party Computation) to approve transactions without ever exposing your full key. Your shards are secured using your passkey.
- There's no seed phrase to write down or risk losing.
Tip: Treat your devices like your wallet — don't share them with others.
2. How does the wallet work?
When you create a wallet, all cryptographic operations happen in Palisade's secure MPC environment, ensuring that your wallet private key never exists in full form.
Your Passkey serves as the secure authentication and authorization method to access the wallet and approve transactions.
This combination keeps your wallet secure while letting you safely interact with it without exposing your private key.
3. What happens if I lose my passkey or device?
Currently, if your only registered Passkey is lost, you will not be able to access your wallet.
- Passkeys Wallet is self-custodial, meaning only you control your wallet.
- We do not have the ability to recover wallets for users.
Solution:
We highly recommend using an authentication manager such as 1Password to store, protect and back up your passkey. Alternatively, use a password manager that is synchronised with a cloud service, such as iCloud or Google Password Manager, so your passkey is backed up if your device is lost or stolen.
4. How can I recover my account if I lose my device?
Recovery is only possible if you've backed up your Passkey:
- Example: Create your Passkey on a device using an authentication manager that is backed up to a cloud service.
- If your device is lost or stolen, you can still access your authentication manager to restore your protected passkeys.
- Without backing up your Passkey, wallet recovery is not possible.
5. Best practices to keep your wallet safe
- Create your Passkey on a device using an authentication manager that is backed up to a cloud service.
- Protect your authentication manager with strong passwords, PINs, or biometrics.
- Don't share your devices with anyone else.
6. Do you store my wallet or private keys?
Your private key is protected and stored using secure Multi-Party Computation (MPC). Even though pieces of your key are stored, we cannot access or reconstruct your full key.
All cryptographic operations are done in a way that ensures only you can approve transactions.
7. Can I use my email, Google, or iCloud account as backup?
Currently, Palisade Identity only supports Passkeys.
We are exploring ways to allow optional recovery through email.
If added, this could provide a recovery path if a device is lost.
Tradeoff: Using third-party recovery reduces full self-custody, but improves safety for non-technical users.
8. Future recovery options
We are considering:
- Trusted account recovery (Google/iCloud/email)
- Use a second passkey as a recovery passkey
All options will maintain security while making recovery possible for lost devices.
9. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Can someone steal my wallet if they steal my phone?
A: No. Your wallet is protected by your device's security (such as your passcode, Face ID, or fingerprint). Without that authentication, no one can access your wallet or approve transactions, even if they have your phone.
Q: Is this safer than a seed phrase wallet?
A: Yes. There is no single secret to lose or steal, and MPC protects your keys during transactions. Unlike seed phrases, passkeys cannot be exported and are secured by the device's secure enclave.
Q: Do I need an internet connection to use my wallet?
A: Yes. Transaction approval requires secure communication between key shares.
Q: What happens if Palisade's servers go down?
A: Your funds are safe. Transactions may be temporarily unavailable, but your wallet remains secure.
10. How do the different passkey setup options compare?
Below is a comparison of the main ways to set up a passkey — natively in your browser, device/phone, or through cloud-synced services such as iCloud or Google. Each option has its pros and cons depending on your priorities (security, portability, or simplicity).
Cloud-synced services (e.g. iCloud Keychain, Google Password Manager, 1Password, Dashlane)
The passkey is stored securely in a cloud account and synced across devices signed into that account.
Pros | Cons | Best For |
|---|---|---|
|
| Users with multiple devices who want convenience, recovery, and flexibility. |
Device-native **(e.g. iPhone, Android, macOS, Windows)
The passkey is managed by your device’s operating system (e.g. Apple Keychain, Android Credential Manager). Unlocking typically uses biometrics (Face ID, fingerprint) or device PIN.
Pros | Cons | Best For |
|---|---|---|
|
| Users who primarily use one trusted device and want strong, device-level security. |
Browser-native (e.g. Chrome, Edge, Brave)
The passkey is generated and stored directly within the browser’s credential store. When you sign in, the browser offers the passkey automatically.
Pros | Cons | Best For |
|---|---|---|
|
| Users who mainly use one browser on one device and want minimal setup. |
Our Recommendation
Choose cloud-synced storage (e.g. iCloud Keychain or a recommended Password Manager such as 1Password).
Important: If your only registered passkey is lost and you don’t have a backup, you will not be able to access your wallet.
See: What happens if I lose my passkey or device?
Additional Tips
- Enable biometric or PIN unlock on your device to protect your passkey.
- If using cloud-sync, secure your cloud account with strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA).
- Periodically test your backup or recovery method to ensure it works if you ever lose access.
11. FIDO Alliance and Passkey Device Support
The FIDO Alliance is an industry association focused on creating and promoting open standards for phishing-resistant authentication, aiming to reduce the world's reliance on passwords. Their solutions, such as passkeys, leverage public key cryptography to provide a more secure, scalable, and user-friendly sign-in experience.
Passkey support is widely available across major operating systems, including Android, Chrome OS, iOS/iPad OS, macOS, Ubuntu, and Windows. These operating systems offer basic capabilities such as synced passkeys, browser autofill, passkey upgrades, and cross-device authentication. Advanced capabilities like device-bound passkeys, client hints, and related origin requests are also supported. Additionally, there is growing support for third-party passkey providers and native app invocation methods.
For more information, you can visit:
Disclaimer: Not all devices or operating systems offer the same level of support for passkeys. For the most up-to-date information, refer to the Passkey Device Support website. While we recommend using authentication managers (such as password managers) for storing and backing up your passkeys, these solutions rely on third-party software. Palisade is not responsible for issues that may arise within their software.
12. Summary: Key Takeaways
- Your wallet is self-custodial — only you control it.
- Authentication managers with cloud sync are recommended to protect against device loss.
- Follow best practices for device and credential security.
- Although widely supported, passkeys rely on browsers, operating systems, and authentication managers maintaining the latest standards.