Main aspects you have to consider on choosing an online bitcoin wallet

[vladozlat]

I'm in need of choosing a "right" (safe, convenient, reliable) online bitcoin wallet for my funds but because of the variety of such wallets and lack of experience in this field it's quite complicated task for me. I'm sure that there are some pitfalls that I don't know or haven't heard about yet and which would affect a lot on the choice. I would appreciate some help on this topic from people who has some experience regarding such types of wallets.

[grandFX]

I prefer to choose blockchain.info for an bitcoin wallet
It's simple to use it and interface
and I have a doubt about the security, it is very safe.
my guess the online wallet is the best is blockchain.

[vladozlat]

I prefer to choose blockchain.info for an bitcoin wallet
It's simple to use it and interface
and I have a doubt about the security, it is very safe.
my guess the online wallet is the best is blockchain.

Thanks for fast reply.
It seems a lot of people choose blockchain.info. Maybe you could tell a bit more about their security, do you mean they use some specific security measures which others don't?

[mjglqw]

Mainly the UI, security, and the support for multiple wallets. I personally use copay on mobile.

[vladozlat]

Mainly the UI, security, and the support for multiple wallets. I personally use copay on mobile.

Maybe you could say a few words about their security? What are their key benefits regarding the security on your opinion or maybe they have some important security features which other don't?

[grnqrtr]

Bye Bye

[vladozlat]

I highly recommend not using an "online" wallet. Use a wallet where you are in complete control of the private keys and you don't have to worry about whether or not the online wallet provider closes down.

What about blockchain.info grandFX recommended few posts above? It's an online wallet but it's possible to export\import private keys from there. Do you think even such online wallet is not a good place to hold funds?

[grnqrtr]

Bye Bye

[mjglqw]

Mainly the UI, security, and the support for multiple wallets. I personally use copay on mobile.

Maybe you could say a few words about their security? What are their key benefits regarding the security on your opinion or maybe they have some important security features which other don't?

To be completely honest I don't know much about copay's security. One thing is for sure though, I prefer these kinds of wallets compared to wallets that are 3rd party websites

[CryptKeeper]

The Copay wallet is great and I can recommend it. Here are the features from their github page:

Multiple wallet creation and management in-app
Intuitive, multisignature security for personal or shared wallets
Easy spending proposal flow for shared wallets and group payments
BIP32 Hierarchical deterministic (HD) address generation and wallet backups
Device-based security: all private keys are stored locally, not in the cloud
Support for Bitcoin testnet wallets
Synchronous access across all major mobile and desktop platforms
Payment protocol (BIP70-BIP73) support: easily-identifiable payment requests and verifiable, secure bitcoin payments
Support for over 150 currency pricing options and unit denomination in BTC or bits
Mnemonic (BIP39) support for wallet backups
Paper wallet sweep support (BIP38)
Hardware wallet support (Trezor and Ledger) (only in Chrome App version)
Email notifications for payments and transfers
Push notifications (only available for ios and android versions)
Customizable wallet naming and background colors
Multiple languages supported
Available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Chrome App, Linux, Windows and OS X devices

[grnqrtr]

Bye Bye

[vladozlat]

I just ran across this thread on reddit today. This is exactly what I was talking about. The guy lost his password to his Blockchain.info wallet, and had never gone into settings where he could have made a backup of the seed phrase before losing his password. I really think Blockchain.info should really encourage people to do that right away, as soon as they make their account.

Really strange policy from their side. The ability to backup or export the keys or the seed could be one of the most important functions of the wallet according to the experienced bitcoin users advices I've received. They provide such functionality but don't advertise it and even hide it. Maybe they do that way because they don't want users to save their seeds and move to another wallets.

[mjglqw]

I just ran across this thread on reddit today. This is exactly what I was talking about. The guy lost his password to his Blockchain.info wallet, and had never gone into settings where he could have made a backup of the seed phrase before losing his password. I really think Blockchain.info should really encourage people to do that right away, as soon as they make their account.

Really strange policy from their side. The ability to backup or export the keys or the seed could be one of the most important functions of the wallet according to the experienced bitcoin users advices I've received. They provide such functionality but don't advertise it and even hide it. Maybe they do that way because they don't want users to save their seeds and move to another wallets.

In the end, it's the user's fault since..

1. He forgot his password
2. He didn't do enough research before getting into for-tech-savvy-things like bitcoin.

Anyway, I don't think blockchain.info is hiding it, I think it's more of that they should enforce the users a bit to export the keys.

[vladozlat]

In the end, it's the user's fault since..

1. He forgot his password
2. He didn't do enough research before getting into for-tech-savvy-things like bitcoin.

Anyway, I don't think blockchain.info is hiding it, I think it's more of that they should enforce the users a bit to export the keys.

Yeah you're right it's totally his fold. That's why I'm here to ask experienced people before acting personally.
But if blockchain.info showed some notification like "Hey user, make backup or you can lost everything one day" right after registration it would be much easier for such newbies like me not to get in trouble. I don't think it would be hard and expensive to implement. There might be a reason they don't do so, I think.

[grnqrtr]

Bye Bye