MetaMask / MetaMask/metamask-extension

Prevent the need to uninstall extension to create new wallet

Open
#6,656 4 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub
area-seedPhrase external-contributor INVALID-ISSUE-TEMPLATE T08-featureRequest team-accounts-framework type-enhancement
Dominant language
TypeScript
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13.2k
Forks
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Avg merge
2d 5h
Merged PRs (30d)
451

Description

## Problem
If I want to create a fresh new wallet (seed phrase), I am forced uninstall and reinstall the extension.

Where I'd expect to be able to create a **new wallet** (but can't) is in the lock screen.

When I log out of my installed version, I only get two options:
- Log in
- Restore/import from seed phrase

## Solution
We should add a third option which is to **Create new wallet** to prevent the need to uninstall and reinstall the extension.

### Design suggestion
Add option to the lock screen to **start over**.
![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/597770/58263789-ecbe1980-7d39-11e9-8908-0021fd48a3e5.png)

EDIT: If the user clicks on **Create new wallet** option, show a warning pop up that says **"Are you sure you want to Create a new wallet? This will reset your wallet and you will not be able to log in the current account.**" Maybe even a 2nd step where the user needs to type a word like "Reset wallet" to make sure they understand the implication of starting over.

Then after warning messages, show this page as if it were a fresh new install.
![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/597770/58263844-065f6100-7d3a-11e9-9ee8-5c382e731823.png)

I realize this might be more of developer feature so alternatively, I'd vouch for at least adding a secret keyboard command that puts me back as if it were a fresh install so that I don't have to go through the whole process of uninstalling and reinstalling the extension.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start from the lock-screen flow, then inspect the existing logout, restore/import, and fresh-install onboarding paths. Confirm how wallet state is reset and where the warning is shown; done means a user can safely choose Create new wallet, acknowledge the warning, and reach the fresh-install flow without uninstalling the extension.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
authentication, frontend, security
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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