Remote signing

NIP-46 defines a protocol for signing Nostr events with a key that lives on a different device or service than the one composing the event. A user's private key stays in a dedicated signer, often an Android app like Amber or a hosted bunker, and every client talks to that signer over Nostr relays to request signatures.

The signer shows each request to the user, who approves or rejects it. A good signer also stores per-app permissions, so a client that the user trusts to publish short notes does not automatically get permission to send private messages or spend from a wallet. The client never sees the private key.

This separation lets a user log into a web client without pasting in their private key, try a new client without re-seeding a keypair, and revoke access for a single client without touching the others. NIP-46 is implemented by Amber, nsecBunker, nsec.app, and most major Nostr clients on desktop and mobile.

References

• NIP-46
• Amber
• nsec.app