User Guide: Silent Shard for MetaMask
Last Updated: 15-11-2023
Quick Links
MetaMask Extension:
Silent Shard Web Application
Silent Shard Mobile Application
Silent Shard Snap FAQ
Video tutorial for Silent Shard Snap:
About Silent Shard Snap
Enhance the security of your MetaMask wallet with Silent Shard! Designed exclusively for existing MetaMask users, Silent Shard provides an additional layer of protection for your funds.
Silent Shard empowers you to create an additional distributed wallet account with an advanced level of fund protection through Multi-Party Computation (MPC). Your private key is distributed between the MetaMask browser extension with Silent Shard Snap and the Silent Shard mobile application (Android or iOS). Initiate your transactions from the MetaMask extension in your desktop browser and confirm them with your phone.
This solution eliminates the single point of failure for the private key, as it is no longer stored or processed in one place.
TL;DR:
Install the MetaMask Extension to your desktop browser (https://metamask.io/download/)
Follow the instructions in MetaMask to create a wallet Install the mobile application
Visit https://snap.silencelaboratories.com and follow the instructions to pair your phone
Perform and confirm transactions
Create the wallet account backup to secure your funds
Recover the wallet account for accessing on any trusted device
Pre-requisite: Installation of MetaMask Extension
Install the https://metamask.io/download/ Extension to your desktop browser.
1. Installation and Pairing
Click on the “Connect MetaMask” button
If the MetaMask browser extension is not installed, this will show a pop-up to remind you. Click on "Get MetaMask" to open the installation site.
If MetaMask is already installed, this will open MetaMask pop-up requesting to connect the Silent Shard Snap
Now you will land on the Pairing screen
You will receive an initiation request on your MetaMask Extension which will allow the DApp to generate a QR code for pairing the DApp with your Phone. Don’t accept it just yet - as we will have to set up your phone to pair. If your phone is ready to pair, ignore this message.
Now, Let's get your Phone ready before pairing
Launch the application
Sign in using your Google account or Apple ID
Click on the “Connect your account” button to initiate the pairing process for the new wallet creation.
After approving access to the device's camera, this action will open the camera scanner, and now you may approve the pairing request in MetaMask and scan the qr code generated by the DApp.
You will also receive a backup initiation request on the phone. You could also set up the backup later. Just make sure to responsibly back up your key shares to protect against the loss of your key shares.
Your Distributed Wallet across your browser and our phone has now been created! 👏
You can view the same on your MetaMask and the mobile app.
After successful pairing, approve the application to send you notifications
At this point, you may now close the DApp. And your wallet is ready to initiate transactions/signing requests.
2. Approving a Transaction / Sign Request
With your wallet all set up, you can initiate a transaction request on MetaMask as you would on the newly created MetaMask wallet (Account 2) to any wallet address.
Your phone will receive a popup for you to accept or reject the signing request.
Clicking on the ‘Accept’ will initiate and generate a distributed signature between your browser and the phone.
By clicking ‘Reject’ the transaction will be cancelled, and no changes will be applied to your Account 2.
3. Backing up your account for future Recovery
If you had not backed up your key shares on the "Installation and Pairing" section,
On your mobile App, click on the vertical dot icon in the top right corner and click on the "Backup and export wallet" button.
On Android, you will see 2 options, “Backup to Google Password Manager” and “Export wallet”. On iOS, they’re “Backup to iCloud Keychain” and “Export wallet”.
If you choose “Export wallet”. You will be presented with a backup file which you can download and save anywhere on your device. This file is very flexible and supported by our application on various devices. You can use it to recover your keyshares anytime.
If you choose “Backup to Google Password Manager”. There will be a request to grant Silent Shard access to “Google Password Manager”, then, you’re able to choose your Google account and after clicking on “Save” your keyshares will be saved into it.
If you choose “Backup to iCloud Keychain”. Then, you’re able to choose the iCloud account that you want the keyshares to be saved.
4. Re-pairing your Desktop with your Phone
You can use these steps if you have lost your account on your Desktop and you want to recover the account from your phone to your desktop.
You can only repair with the same MetaMask wallet extension you had created the Silent Shard Snap account with. If you try to pair with another MetaMask Wallet extension, you will be shown an error and will not proceed with the Re-Pairing.
On your mobile App, click on the vertical dot icon in the top right corner and click on the "Re-pair with browser" button.
Click on the “Connect MetaMask” button
If the MetaMask browser extension is not installed, this will show a pop-up to remind you. Click on "Get MetaMask" to open the installation site.
If MetaMask browser extension already installed, this will open a MetaMask pop-up requesting to connect the Silent Shard Snap.
Follow the instructions on the MetaMask extension popup and connect the Silent Shard Snap.
Now you will land on the Pairing screen
You will receive an initiation request on your MetaMask which will allow the DApp to generate a QR code for pairing the DApp with your Phone.
By opening the camera scanner, scan the QR code from DApp, – and see the DApp paired again on your new web device.
5. Recovering your account using a backup
Recovering your Silent Shard account is only possible if you have saved your backup during your account setup or manually as listed in 3. Backing up your account for future recovery . If you don't have a backup saved, you will not be able to recover your wallet.
If you still have the account active on the DApp, Open the DApp, and click on the top-right vertical dot icon and press the “Delete account” button.
Deleting your account on your Desktop is okay since we will be using your Backup to restore your account on both your devices!
Now to recover your Silent shard Snap account:
Unlock the app using Device Biometrics to get started.
Log in to the app using your Google account.
You can now click on the below button which says “Restore existing wallet”.
You can select the location of your backup from the options provided depending on where you stored it initially during the Account Setup Process or manually using 3. Backing up your account for future recovery.
Upon successful retrieval of your backup, You will be prompted to initiate the pairing process with the DApp
This will now recover your initial state of the Distributed wallet across the browser and the phone. 🎉
Logout and Delete
Heads-up! This action may lead to permanent loss of access to the wallet and permanent loss of the funds if you don't have a BACKUP. Make sure you have done the Backup before logout of the app.
On your mobile App, click on the vertical dot icon in the top right corner and click on the "Delete wallet and logout" button.
Confirm the action by tapping ‘I understand the risk and agree to continue’. Then click on “Delete”.
Deny the action by tapping ‘Cancel’; the window will close and nothing changes.
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