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Social Recovery

1 min read
Pronunciation
[soh-shuhl ri-kuhv-uh-ree]
Analogy
Social recovery is like naming trusted friends who can co-sign a new key to your safe if you lose your original key.
Definition
A wallet recovery mechanism where a user’s trusted contacts (“guardians”) collectively authorize the replacement of a lost key or wallet.
Key Points Intro
Social recovery enhances resilience through:
Key Points

Guardians: Preselected addresses that approve recovery.

Threshold: k-of-n guardians required.

No central custodian: Trust distributed among friends.

Programmable: Implemented in smart-contract wallets.

Example
A smart wallet contract lets 3-of-5 guardians sign a transaction to replace a lost owner key with a new key.
Technical Deep Dive
Wallet contract stores guardian list and threshold. `recover(newOwner, signatures[])` checks each guardian signature on message hash and ensures ≥threshold. Then updates `owner` variable.
Security Warning
Compromised guardians can hijack wallet; choose highly trusted parties and monitor guardian list.
Caveat
Recovery process can be slow and requires guardians to be available.
Related Terms
Programmable Wallet
Account Abstraction
MPC Wallet

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