What's the difference between a wallet and an account?
Across this support page, we refer to your wallet and account(s) as separate items.
The distinction is not immediately clear, but is important for understanding how MetaMask works, its structure, and what you can and can't do with wallets and accounts.
'Wallet' describes the cluster of accounts derived from a Secret Recovery Phrase (SRP). 'Account' refers to a single public-private key pair within that cluster.
You can derive more than one account from a wallet, and you can have multiple wallets within MetaMask.
MetaMask is a software tool that allows you to manage and access your wallet(s) and, in turn, your accounts.
What is a client?
A client is a piece of software that allows you to manage your wallets or SRPs. It runs on your computer or mobile device and allows you to interact with the blockchain.
MetaMask is a client. Think of it as a tool for proving your identity in web3. It is a way of signing transactions and messages to demonstrate that you are the holder of your wallet(s).
What is a wallet?
A wallet is a cluster of accounts governed by a source of keys: an SRP, an imported private key, or a snap. If you have multiple SRPs in your MetaMask, you have multiple wallets.
According to MetaMask, 1 SRP = 1 wallet.
What is an account?
While a wallet is a cluster of accounts, an account is individual within that cluster and holds your specific assets.
Your accounts in MetaMask are each represented by a public address (the 'public' side of your key pair), which you may have seen referred to incorrectly as a 'wallet address'. There is no such thing: there is only an account address. Confusingly, many web3 services and protocols conflate wallets and accounts. This is unhelpful, particularly when navigating support issues such as lost SRPs, and restoring and resetting wallets and accounts.
What does this mean in practice?
- You don't have funds and assets in a wallet; you have them in your accounts. Your accounts, in turn, are managed using your wallet.
- When you share an Ethereum address, you're sharing an account address. There is no such thing as a wallet address.