The private keys for both of these must be protected by you in order to retain your account privacy. On the other hand, the public keys are obviously public (they are part of your Monero account address). For normal public/private key cryptography someone could send you a private message by encrypting it with either of your public keys, and you would then be the only one able to decrypt it with your private keys.
Providing access to your Monero account to your next of kin is just as easy as it is to backup your Monero account. Simply leave your @mnemonic-seed to them in your will, or store it somewhere safe where it will be given to them upon the execution of your will. A key advantage to this is that your next of kin won't have to wait for months for a third party to release the funds to them.
Over and above backing up your @mnemonic-seed so that you have access to your account in the event of critical data loss, it is also important to practice good security. Use a secure password when creating a local Monero account (not used on [MyMonero](https://mymonero.com) or other web-based account systems).
Monero relies heavily on a cryptography principle known as *public/private key cryptography* or *asymmetric cryptography*, which is thoroughly detailed in [this Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography).
Don't ever give your Monero account password to anyone, as this can be used to access the Monero on your computer without knowing your @mnemonic-seed. Similarly, make sure you have running and up-to-date antivirus, especially on Windows computers. Finally, be careful when clicking links in emails or on unknown and untrusted websites, as malware installed on your computer can sit and wait for you to access your Monero account before taking the funds from it.
As the example above indicates, it is incredibly important to store these words in safe locations. If you are concerned about the risk of critical loss at your home, for instance, you may want to store a second copy of your seed with your attorney or in a safety deposit box. It is also recommended that it is stored in a way that does not make it obvious that it is your seed, so writing it into a letter or as part of other notes is advisable.
A key difference between traditional electronic currency and Monero is that your account resides only under your control, normally on your computer, and cannot be accessed by anyone else if you [practice good security](#practicing-good-security).
2
../_i18n/en/resources/moneropedia/account.md:1
English words MUST be kept as is and translations added after them. Example: ["account", "accounts", "wallet", "wallets", "conto", "conti", "portafoglio", "portafogli"]
