A watch-only wallet allows a user to track the balance of their bitcoin wallet without the private keys associated with that wallet. This means the bitcoin balance can be tracked without exposing the private keys to the device on which the watch-only wallet was generated. Since Bitcoin addresses are publicly viewable on the blockchain by anyone, any user can track the balance associated with a particular Bitcoin address, even if it's not their own.
Tip: Watch-only wallets can be particularly useful when used with your Blockstream Jade, as you can still receive funds without needing your Jade device with you.
Watch-only wallet setup Instructions
1. Navigate to the page that lists your Digital Wallets. If you already have a wallet open, you can reach this screen by tapping the wallet icon in the top-right corner of the screen. Open the wallet for which you'd like to create a watch-only wallet.
Note: Watch-only mode only allows you to view the wallet it was set up for. This means you will need to set up watch-only mode for each of your wallets separately.
2. Tap the Settings tab on the bottom navigation bar once the wallet is open, then select Watch-only in the Wallet section of your settings.
3. What you see on the next screen will depend on whether you're using two-factor authentication (2FA) on your wallet or not. Those with multisig wallets will need to generate a username and password to later create a watch-only wallet, while singlesig wallet users can copy the extended public keys or output descriptors associated with their wallet. This data will need to be pasted when creating the watch-only wallet.
Warning: Anyone with access to the watch-only username and password associated with your multisig wallet can view your accounts and transaction history. This may compromise your privacy. Do not share your watch-only username and password in public and update the login details regularly.
4. Next, return to the screen that lists your Digital Wallets and tap Setup a New Wallet. Click Get Started on the next screen. Then, tap the icon with the three dots in it on the screen that says Create a new wallet to begin your bitcoin journey. Lastly, tap Set up watch-only on the small menu that pops up at the bottom of the screen.
5. You will then be asked to choose the kind of wallet for which you'd like to create a watch-only version. Your options are multisig or singlesig and will depend on the wallet the watch-only wallet is based upon.
6. Finally, you will be presented with the screen to create your watch-only wallet based on the information you provide. Singlesig wallets will require the extended public key or output descriptors that were previously copied from within the wallet settings to be pasted, while 2FA-protected multisig wallets will ask for the login credentials that were generated in step 3. Once completed, the watch-only wallet will be selectable from the screen from step 1 that displayed your Digital Wallets.