The parity wallet offers multiple options to store tokens and Ether.
Accounts are the most basic way to store assets. They consist of simple public/private key-pairs, which are used to sign transactions, enable authentication, and prove ownership.
To create an account with the Parity Wallet, open the Accounts tab, click the +ACCOUNT button, and follow the instructions. Make sure to write down your recovery phrase in a secure location and to create backups of your private key after account creation.
Wallets are smart contracts which manage assets and can me owned by multiple accounts. Unlike accounts, contract wallets are controlled by code, which means that it is possible to customize their behavior. The most common use-case are multi-signature wallets, that allow for transaction logging, withdrawal limits, and rule-sets for signatures required.
To create a multi-sig wallet with UI, open the Accounts tab, click on the +WALLET button and select Multi-Sig Wallet.
In a supplemental step, select at least two owners and specify the number of signatures required to withdraw funds. For example, to create a classic 2-of-3 multi-signature contract, add three wallet owners by selecting them from your account list or pasting the public key, and set the required number of owners to 2.
Optionally, the wallet contract allows to define a daily withdrawal limit. This allows each owner to withdraw up to the specified amount of Ether without requiring any other owner to sign.
In order to create a wallet, the contract has to be deployed on the blockchain. After setting up all parameters for the contact, click Create and sign the transaction with one of the owner accounts.
Once deployed, the wallet will be visible in your accounts list on top of your normal accounts.
Opening the wallet reveals details about available balances and transactions, as well as pending confirmations for the multi-signature transactions.
The wallet contract used for Parity is available for review here: enhanced-wallet.sol
Vaults are an additional privacy feature to lock away your accounts behind a second layer of encryption. While your normal accounts are encrypted with your pass-phrase, their meta-data is accessible for all applications interacting with your wallet. Creating a vault encrypts the meta-data (e.g., the public address) and therefore hides the accounts until you unlock the vault.
To create a new vault with the Parity Wallet, open the Accounts tab, click the VAULT button, click +CREATE VAULT, and follow the instructions.
After creating a vault, click open it, click on Accounts, select the accounts which should be moved into the vault, and confirm with Set.
Once moved into the vault, the addresses are encrypted and not stored as plain text on your disk anymore.
Closing a vault hides all accounts from your public accounts tab.
