The biggest failure mode in non-custodial crypto isn't hacking — it's losing access. People write down seed phrases wrong. They lose the paper. They don't back up at all. And when the phone breaks, the crypto is gone.
nimimo's recovery card is designed around one insight: backup has to be so simple that normal people actually do it.
What a recovery card is
A recovery card is a PDF that nimimo generates on your device. It contains two things: a QR code holding your encrypted wallet data, and a PIN or password you chose. The QR and the PIN together are the only way to restore your wallet.
Everything happens on your device. Your wallet data is encrypted before it becomes a QR code. The PIN never leaves your phone or computer. nimimo's server never sees the recovery card, never stores it, and cannot reproduce it.
The scissor line
The recovery card has a dotted scissor line between the QR code and the PIN. If you print it, you can cut it in half — store the QR in one place, the PIN in another. Neither piece is useful alone. Without the PIN, the QR is just random noise.
Some people keep both pieces together in a drawer. Some email the PDF to themselves. Some split them between a safe and a notebook. nimimo doesn't prescribe — it just gives you the tools.
Why verification matters
Creating a recovery card puts your status at 'backed up'. But nimimo distinguishes between 'backed up' and 'verified'. Verified means you actually restored from the card and proved it works.
This exists because the most dangerous backup is the one you've never tested. A corrupted PDF, a mistyped PIN, a QR code that didn't scan properly — any of these would leave you with false confidence. Verification catches all of them before the real emergency.
The restore flow
Restoring works on any device, even without logging in first. Upload the PDF or scan the QR code. Enter your PIN. nimimo decrypts your wallet, sets it up on the new device, and re-derives all your addresses. Your identity is live again.
The entire flow takes about 30 seconds. No waiting for blockchain confirmations. No support tickets. No syncing. Your wallet existed in that QR code the entire time — encrypted, portable, and yours.