Photo-derived key
The wallet can derive its 256-bit master secret from an image. It does not hide an existing key inside the file: the decoded pixels are the source of the key. The same pixels recreate the same wallet and every address derived from it.
What the wallet reads
The wallet decodes the selected image, converts it to a canonical RGBA pixel stream and feeds the following data to domain-separated BLAKE3 derive-key mode:
"RGBA8" || width_le32 || height_le32 || pixel_length_le64 || rgba_pixels
The derivation context is fixed by the wallet format:
Parano1d master secret from canonical image pixels v1
The 32-byte output is the master secret.
The file name and image metadata are not inputs. Two files with identical decoded dimensions and pixels therefore derive the same key even if their metadata differs.
The short Key ID shown before import is a separate domain-separated fingerprint of the derived key. Compare it when testing a backup on another device.
What stays private
The image is processed locally. It is not uploaded, placed in a transaction or copied into the wallet data directory. After setup, the keystore contains the derived master secret, just as it would after Generate or Import.
On-chain, a photo-derived owner is no different from any other Parano1d owner. The photo is only a human-chosen source for the same 256-bit wallet secret.
Choose the photo carefully
Use a private original that has never been published. A public or easily guessed image is not a secret: anyone with the same pixels can derive the same wallet.
Keep the original file offline. The following changes produce a different wallet:
- resizing, cropping or rotating pixels;
- filters and color correction;
- lossy format conversion;
- messenger or social-network recompression;
- a screenshot or thumbnail of the original.
When moving the backup between your own devices, send it as a file rather than as an optimized image. Metadata may change safely, but preserving the original file is the simplest reliable recovery procedure.
See Backup and recovery before receiving funds.