# Private Keys

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**Private Key**. A cryptographic key, known only to the owner, used in [asymmetric encryption](/glossary.md#asymmetric-encryption) to decrypt data or authenticate digital signatures. Private keys are paired with public keys, and together they form the core of secure communication, authentication, and digital asset management on decentralized networks.
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## Private Keys Run the Web

Cryptographic keys provide a behind-the-scenes interface for people to authenticate with and use technology – from email, file transfers, banking accounts, to essentially every digital interaction on the internet. Private keys run the web, and on blockchains they secure trillions of dollars of assets. All private keys are as secure as they are both random and guarded from someone else replicating them or using them on your behalf. 

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## Innovating on Private Keys

Traditional private keys rely on random phrases, making them difficult for users to manage and prone to loss or theft. *But what if private keys could be built differently?* 

Human Keys completely change how private keys are derived. Instead of creating private keys from random phrases, Human Keys make humans into keys. This new framing shifts ownership of digital assets from the holder of a random seed, to the human that can uniquely prove their biometrics, knowledge, or other secret. \
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Human Keys make the ownership layers of the internet built on top more consumer-friendly, decentralized, and secure.

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