A wallet screen can feel like a bank balance, a password manager and a payment app at once. That visual familiarity is convenient, but it can hide several different jobs. To understand a wallet, separate what you see from what authorises an action and what would be needed to recover access. Use fictional labels throughout this exercise; there is no reason to handle real recovery material.
Draw four boxes
Label the boxes interface, account, authorisation and recovery. The interface is the software or device workflow you use. The account is the network-level identity or arrangement it presents. Authorisation concerns the signing mechanism. Recovery concerns the documented method for restoring the required access. Different products connect these boxes differently, so avoid assuming that one diagram describes every wallet.
For an introductory Ethereum example, the wallet interface lets a person interact with an account and request actions. The network records do not live inside the picture of a balance on the phone. A wallet can present several accounts, and changing an interface is not automatically the same thing as changing the underlying account. Product compatibility and recovery details still need separate checking.
Follow a fictional reading task
Imagine Sam wants to look at an old transaction. Write “read a public record” beside the interface box. Does this task necessarily require signing authority? No. A relevant explorer or an appropriate read-only view may be enough. This is why the ability to display a balance should not be mistaken for the ability to spend from the corresponding account.
Now imagine Sam sees a request to sign. That is a different task. The question becomes what the request authorises, through which account and on which network. A familiar application name does not answer those questions. Keep the exercise at the level of understanding the request; do not approve a real action just to see what happens.
Separate local access from recovery
A device PIN, an application password and a recovery method may protect different parts of the arrangement. A password-reset button for a service account should not be assumed to restore a separate self-custody wallet. Likewise, knowing an interface’s name does not establish which backup format or additional dependency a particular setup uses.
Write only the type of dependency in your diagram. “Official recovery instructions required” is useful. Actual backup words, private keys, passwords and authentication codes do not belong in this worksheet. The goal is to identify responsibilities, not to create another copy of sensitive material in a browser, screenshot or cloud note.
Read the product page with a task in mind
Choose three questions: which devices can run the interface, which networks and assets support the task you need, and where the exact recovery documentation is published. Record the model or software version where relevant. If a page lists an asset without explaining the workflow, mark the answer as incomplete instead of assuming every feature is supported.
Finally, explain the four boxes to someone using the fictional example. A good explanation might say that the screen presents information, an account identifies the relevant network arrangement, signing authority permits defined actions, and recovery has its own requirements. If you can make those distinctions without opening a wallet or sharing a secret, the exercise has done its job. You now have better questions for a product review and fewer reasons to confuse a convenient interface with the entire custody arrangement.
Crypto Concept Map helps you organise your own notes in this browser. Keep credentials and recovery material out of your project.