Keys & Permissions

Understanding the hierarchical key system of the Blurt blockchain.

Any password or key becomes more likely to be compromised the more often it is used. That’s why Blurt uses a hierarchical key system: different keys for different risk levels.

You receive four keys with different permissions. The Posting Key is intended for frequent daily use (social actions only). The Active Key is for wallet and governance actions, so it should be used only when needed. The Owner Key is the highest authority and should stay offline.

Quick Do & Don’t
Do
  • Use Posting Key for daily login and social actions.
  • Keep a small liquid BLURT balance for on-chain fees.
  • Back up your Master/Owner credentials offline.
  • Rotate keys immediately if you suspect compromise.
Don’t
  • Never paste your Owner Key into websites or apps.
  • Don’t reuse keys across unknown tools or browser extensions.
  • Don’t keep unencrypted key files on cloud drives or email drafts.
  • Don’t share private keys with anyone—support will never ask for them.
Tip: If you only remember one rule, make it this: Owner Key stays offline.
1. Posting Key

Your primary social key. Use this for daily interaction on the Blurt network.

Permissions:
  • Publish or edit posts & comments
  • Upvote / downvote content (where the frontend supports it)
  • Reblog (share) content
  • Follow or mute accounts
Why it’s safer for daily use:

No wallet permissions. If someone gets this key, they can interact socially but cannot move your funds. This is the recommended key for everyday logins.

2. Active Key

Your financial & governance key. Required for wallet actions and sensitive account operations.

Permissions:
  • Transfer tokens
  • Power Up / Power Down
  • Vote for witnesses / set a witness proxy (governance)
  • Market-related actions (where supported by tools)
  • Create accounts (where supported)
Security Warning:

Anyone with this key can move your tokens. Use it only on trusted frontends for specific actions, then log out again.

3. Owner Key

Your ultimate authority key. It proves full ownership of your account and can change the other keys.

Permissions:
  • Reset Owner, Active, Posting (and Memo) keys
  • Recover control after compromise (key rotation)
  • Decline voting rights (advanced, irreversible without protocol support)
Critical:

Store offline only. Never paste this into websites. Losing Owner/Master access can make account recovery extremely difficult or impossible.

4. Memo Key

Used for encrypting and decrypting memos (for example, in wallet transfers where memos are supported).

Permissions:
  • Encrypt a memo
  • Decrypt an encrypted memo
Note:

Encrypted memos are still stored on-chain, but the content is unreadable without the correct key. Many users rarely need the memo key day-to-day.

Master Password (Seed)

This is the long string generated when you created your account. It can derive all keys above.

LOSE THIS = LOSE EVERYTHING
Public Keys vs. Private Keys

Every Blurt key has a public and a private part. Public keys can be visible on-chain and identify permissions. Private keys are what you must protect.

  • Public keys help verify account permissions on the blockchain.
  • Private keys are used to sign transactions (login/actions).
  • Never share private keys. Public keys can be shared.

Blurt Guide - Security Documentation