Ladies of Hive

Recovery Account & proper backup of Keys

I hope everyone will read this, as even people who have been on Hive for a long time don't always understand the ramifications of what they're doing. Every account on Hive has a "Recovery Account" trustee that can help us recover our accounts should they become compromised. That trustee is initially the account which created our account, but the trustee can be changed any time.

★ It is important to note that our Recovery Account trustee has no special access over our account. That trustee cannot see our Keys or perform any actions on our behalf. The trustee is only able to login to their own account and broadcast a payload of code to the blockchain that will return control of a compromised account to the rightful owner; that's all they can do.

Many people don't seem to understand this, and one of their first actions on the blockchain is to change their Recovery Account so they can feel sovereign / self-sufficient without relying on the assigned trustee to assist them. But, let's look at a few circumstances where this can be problematic.

• John Doe registers the account @johndoe with Hive. He immediately sets his own account as his Recovery Account trustee. Then, when his account becomes compromised, he is unable to recover his own account because he cannot login to broadcast the payload! And yes, some people have done this and lost everything.

• John Doe registers the account @johndoe with Hive. Then he registers another account, @johndoe-2 and sets that as the Recovery Account trustee for his first account. That is fine, if he never loses the Keys to the second account ~or~ if both accounts are not compromised at the same time. It happened recently where this scenario failed, as the user lost the Keys to the trustee account, then their original account was compromised. Fortunately, they finally found the Keys to the second account, but it took some work to locate them.

• John Doe registers the account @johndoe with Hive. Then he sets his friend Mary Jane (@maryjane) as his trustee. Then Mary Jane becomes ill and is in the hospital and can't login to help John when his account becomes compromised. Or worse, she dies, and then there is no trustee to help John when he loses his account. There have also been cases where John's account and Mary's account were both compromised at the same time, and both of them lost everything.

So, what to do...?

There are many large projects on Hive which contain a team of people working together, and many of them create accounts for new users. Some of those projects include @ecency, @appreciator, @ocd, @threespeak, @actifit, and many others. Those project accounts automatically become Recovery Account trustees for the accounts they create. My advice is to leave them in that position unless you have a valid reason for not trusting them any more (the founder of the project has disappeared, the project seems to be going 'rogue' in some way, etc.). If your account becomes compromised and one person on the Ecency team is unavailable to assist in recovering an account when the need arises, someone else on the team is probably available to do it. So, that gives more flexibility to the situation than having a single person as the only one who can help.

Anyone's Recovery Account trustee can be seen in one of our "block explorers" for Hive. The following is an alphabetical list of the ones I know about (please tell me in the comments if I have missed one!):

~ Block Explorers for the Hive Blockchain ~

	URL	courtesy of
AusbitBlocks	https://hive.ausbit.dev	@ausbitbank
HiveBlockExplorer	https://www.hiveblockexplorer.com	@penguinpablo
HiveHub.dev	https://hivehub.dev	@peakd team
HiveScan.info	https://hivescan.info	@hdev team
Openhive	https://explore.openhive.network	@gtg (Gandalf)

In those block explorers, two fields are important when an account becomes compromised:

• last_owner_update shows the timestamp of when the Owner Key was last changed. The format is: YYYY-MM-DD T HH:MM:SS, so "2021-08-09T05:24:21" means August 9th of 2021 at a Time of 5 hours 24 minutes 21 seconds after midnight UTC. If you did not make the change to the Keys at the time shown, then someone else has control of your account.

• recovery_account is the only account that can help you regain control of a compromised account. NO ONE ELSE can do it. And if you cannot get in touch with them, or they have died, then you are out of luck. Period. So choose your recovery_account trustee carefully! It should be a team of people /project you trust, an automated account recovery option such as HiveAccountRecovery, or a second account of your own creation for which you have safely & securely stored the Keys so they can never be lost.

Owner Update & Recovery Account
^{screenshot from Hive.Ausbit.dev ← one of several block explorers for Hive}

So, how does one change the Recovery Account trustee?

• PEAKD: AccountActions > Keys&Permissions > RecoveryAccount • Ecency: Settings > Keys&Permissions > OpenPermissions • Liketu: Wallet > Keys&Safety > Safety

Oddly, I don't see a way to do it on Hive.Blog, nor in the standalone Vessel Wallet for desktop. But, it is easy to do on the above three listed interfaces, and perhaps on other interfaces as well.

NOTE: Once you have changed your Recovery Account trustee, it takes 30 days for the change to become effective. This is coded into the blockchain rules to prevent abuse, and is normal. After 30 days have passed, the change you made takes effect and will remain until you change it again. If you try to change it before the 30 days up, the timer resets to another 30 days, so once you make the change, don't mess with it unless you've had second thoughts about whom to choose as trustee!

I've been compromised! How to request recovery...?

Find the Recovery Account trustee on one of the block explorers listed above, then contact that trustee. Many of them can be found on Discord. If you cannot find a way to contact your trustee, post a message in the official Hive Discord and one of the Admins or Mods will assist you in contacting your trustee.

Once the trustee has been contacted, you can go to this tool to begin the recovery process. The person requesting recovery should click on the first box ("Recover Account") and follow the steps given. The trustee should click on the second box ("Request Recovery") and follow the steps given. If both people are online at the same time, the process via this tool only takes a couple of minutes to complete; it is easy. It was once much harder! BIG THANKS to @reazuliqbal for simplifying a more difficult process with this great tool!

ALSO NOTE: When an account has been compromised, the owner has 30 days to recover it, or else recovery becomes impossible. So, it's a good idea to peek at your account periodically, even if you're taking a break from Hive, to be sure everything is still okay. Also your previous OWNER KEY is required to complete the recovery, so don't bother your Recovery Account trustee if you don't have that previous OWNER KEY.

How do I safely store my Hive Keys?

Don't keep your only copy of your Keys on your device. What if it dies and you can no longer access the Keys? The safest thing to do is put them on a thumb-drive / flash-drive. Encrypted drives are best, where a password is required to read the data on the drive. And hardware can always fail, so multiple thumb-drives are better than one. I have actually had a thumb-drive fail in the past, just suddenly become unreadable for no rational reason and all the data was lost. Fortunately, it was just some photos & music and not anything more critical such as Keys.

There are thumb-drives / flash-drives with a different connector on each end: a bigger one for plugging to a laptop or desktop computer, and a smaller one for mobile phones. Using one of these ensures that your Keys are accessible anywhere you need them, and you can transfer Keys from one device to another in two simple steps. These drives are not very expensive, only slightly more than a drive with only one-size connector.

Considering that any hardware can fail, I have my own Keys saved to several of these drives. I also have mine saved to a secure "password manager" app that I trust, which has three levels of security (yes, I have to enter three different passwords to get into the thing, so it's quite secure!). You could also print a copy of your Keys on paper and place them in a lockable, fireproof strong box, if you wish.

It is not safe to store your Keys or Master Password in an email, as that is easily hacked. Also, GoogleDrive™ is not a safe place, either, as your login credentials for GoogleDrive™ are easier leaked via a virus on your device than your Hive Keys are, and many Hiveans have lost their accounts by storing their Keys there.

➡️ OFFLINE IS THE SAFEST PLACE TO STORE YOUR KEYS! ⬅️

Lastly, there is no free "HIVE AIRDROP" for loyal users nor will there ever be one. The comments that are being posted about an airdrop are scammers, trying to steal your funds. Do not click their fake phishing links. Don't fall for their evil trickery.

Let's be safe out there! ✌️

𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘! 😊

NOTES

All writing is always by me with NO AI used, not even for proofreading.
Photos by me, with enhancement by Copilot™, as noted

^_22-Oct-2026

Comments · 26

@pizzabot(60)· 1h
PIZZA!

$PIZZA slices delivered: @sacra97_(8/15) tipped @thekittygirl

_{Join us in Discord!}
@sacra97(77)· 1h
It’s not easy, but it’s something you can learn. I always ask my children for help, and now I don’t fall for scams—which are very dangerous for the accounts we’ve been contributing to for so long. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this. Hug @thekittygir

No es fácil pero se aprende, yo siempre pido ayuda a mis hijos y ya no caigo en estafas que son muy peligrosas para las cuentas que tenemos tanto tiempo aportando. Muchísimas gracias por tomarte el tiempo y explicarlo. Un abrazo.

!LADY !PIZZA !PIMP !HUESO !ALIVE !BBH
@goldenoakfarm(77)· 4h
Being a Neanderthal, most of this is wayyy over my head. But I clicked the link "official Hive Discord" and this is what happened when I got there:

I've tried to use Discord in the back past but never had much luck connecting with people.

Your post was clearer for me about how the Recovery process works. I'd seen the little boxes but had no idea what to do with them when they appear.

Nearly everyone of my posts for the nearly 9 years I've been on this platform are backed up in 2 places on my computer along with the URL for the post. I thought that would be the best I could do.

But it seems there's a whole process I should make sure is in place, but don't quite get how to start it, especially if I should click on the little box next time it appears...
@dolov(67)· 5h
Yes, keeping this is crucial.
@mers(73)· 5h
Thank you for this post, this is a great info and I hope nobody´s account gets compromised.
@worthmind(38)· 9h
The self-trustee example is the one that should worry people most. If the compromised account is also its own recovery trustee, there is no way back — you cannot log in to send the recovery payload. I wonder how many older accounts are still sitting on a default trustee they have never checked since signup. Is PeakD's settings page the fastest place to verify it, or do you recommend people cross-check on another frontend as well?
@cositav(73)· 10h
How can I find out what my recovery account is?
@kerrislravenhill(74)· 12h
I've been always cautious of where I use my credentials and so far so good common sense and the ability to recognize a scam has spared me the trouble. As the saying goes, "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure."

Bookmarked for future reference.
@hivebuzz(74)· 12h
Congratulations @thekittygirl! Your post has been a top performer on the Hive blockchain and you have been rewarded with this rare badge

Post with the highest payout of the day.

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@josephthegreat(58)· 13h
It really breaks my heart—none of my keys are working anymore, so there’s no hope left for recovering my account. 😭💔
@chris-uk(71)· 17h
Thanks for the post and for giving a lesson about protecting keys. I'll definitely invest in a flash drive, since my keys are currently stored on Paper and in a password manager. A flash drive will be more secure other than paper :)
@fj9410(48)· 17h
I want to express my sincere gratitude for sharing a post of such technical depth—something so necessary and yet so often overlooked in everyday conversation about Hive.

Addressing block explorers as tools for auditing and on-chain verification not only demonstrates a command of the ecosystem but also invites the reader to stop being a passive user and become a critical observer of the chain. The treatment you gave to the change the recovery account trustee process is particularly valuable, because it touches on a key friction point in operational security: recovery account governance, which is often overlooked until it's too late.

What can I say about the section on securely storing Hive keys. You hit the nail on the head by going beyond the simple "don't share them" and delving into the realm of secret management, the separation of roles between keys (posting, active, owner, memo), and the operational hygiene that every user should internalize. This is information that, when properly applied, makes the difference between a resilient account and a vulnerable one.

Posts like this raise the level of the community. Thank you for taking the time to structure and share technical knowledge with rigor. Best regards.👌
@hive3(55)· 18h
Saw this play out firsthand today — multiple comments spamming a masked phishing link, almost certainly from compromised accounts rather than willing scammers. This post is exactly the fix people are missing. 🐝 Thank you!
@sage8(45)· 19h
setting your own account as the recovery trustee sounds like a good idea for independence until you actually need it and realize the flaw 🌷
@zekepickleman(79)· 20h
Definitely a good reminder for those who know and excellent tutorial for those who don't! Storing and protecting your keys may seem like a strange thing to blockchain noobies but there is no customer service department here to help.
@gtg(76)· 20h
Please take a look at the chat ;-)
@jerome-colley(58)· 20h
Thank you for post! Great info!
@artemisnorth.com(58)· 21h
Thank you Kitty! These is a very important post and I appreciate this information.
@mother.dragons11(45)· 21h
☺️🤗🥰
@databaron(62)· 21h
the 30 day wait on a trustee change is the part people miss. If you only switch after something feels off, the old trustee is still the one who has to act, so check yours on a quiet day, not in the middle of a panic.
@ph1102(79)· 21h
Thank you very much for creating this post! With so many phishing and scamming attempts recently, this post is more important than ever! As you mentioned this a few days ago, you reminded me to check my settings and to see who my recovery account is... As I do have multiple accounts, I had to check it. I did what you described in your 2nd example, and luckily, I didn't... But... My OG account did have a person who isn't on HIVE anymore as a recovery account! 😱 That's fixed now... Waiting for those 30 days to become active!

Great to see all the tools in one place too... I will have to try the recovery process, just for practice purposes! 😃

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@bozz(83)· 21h
Thanks for this! Great info! I'll be changing mine now.
@sunshine698(53)· 22h
I must say that it is clear, 'specifically insightful', and definitely a 'Spot-On', breaking down, of how so very crucial and critical, a 'Trusted Recovery Trustee' is, for a 'long term account security', therefore it makes this purposeful article, a "must-read" for everyone, on Hive! Great work done here, awareness is really important and so is the back-up.
@oasiskp2(68)· 22h
Nice and timely thanks for sharing. !ALIVE !HUG !INDEED
@livinguktaiwan(81)· 22h
Thanks for this @thekittygirl, there have been so many scams lately and sadly people have become victims. Some just thought they have lost everything and didn't bother to recover their account to get back what's still left in it. Worse still, some hacked accounts have been used to send out spam scam messages resulting in their rep being downvoted to negative.

By the way, some people (myself included) may ask, why can't my account be recovered in the same way if I've lost my keys? Sorry, this is not meant as a challenge for you, but I'm just thinking if there's a noobie way to explain this
@pixresteemer(71)· 22h
!BEER !GLYPH