a "public key" can also just be a secret. "Apple toothpaste monkey piano" is something someone can write down for recovery. they don't need to know; they just n

a "public key" can also just be a secret. "Apple toothpaste monkey piano" is something someone can write down for recovery. they don't need to know; they just need to remember where they put it (which might be a stretch, yes, but it's better than storing things in plain text)