What is Privy?

1 min read Updated

Privy is a web3 authentication and embedded wallet platform that creates non-custodial wallets for users without requiring them to manage seed phrases — using social logins, email, and phone number as recovery methods.

WHY IT MATTERS

Traditional wallet creation is hostile: install an extension, write down 24 words, understand gas. Privy abstracts all of this. Users sign in with email or social accounts and get a wallet automatically. The private key is secured using MPC or enclave technology — the user controls it without ever seeing it.

Privy's embedded wallets are particularly useful for agent-based applications. When an application creates an agent on behalf of a user, Privy can provision a wallet for that agent without the user needing to understand key management.

The developer experience focuses on seamless integration: a few lines of code add authentication and wallet creation to any application. This makes it fast to build agent-powered financial applications without building wallet infrastructure from scratch.

HOW POLICYLAYER USES THIS

PolicyLayer can wrap Privy-created embedded wallets with spending policies. The agent gets its wallet from Privy, and PolicyLayer adds transaction-level controls — combining easy wallet provisioning with robust financial guardrails.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Are Privy wallets custodial?
No. Privy wallets are non-custodial — the key material is split using MPC or secured in user-controlled enclaves. Privy facilitates key management but doesn't have access to the full key.
Can Privy wallets be used programmatically by agents?
Yes. Privy provides server-side APIs for creating and managing wallets programmatically, making it suitable for agent wallet provisioning.
What chains does Privy support?
All major EVM chains plus Solana. Wallets are multi-chain by default.

FURTHER READING

Enforce policies on every tool call

Intercept is the open-source MCP proxy that enforces YAML policies on AI agent tool calls. No code changes needed.

npx -y @policylayer/intercept
github.com/policylayer/intercept →
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