# Externally Owned Account (EOA) An Externally Owned Account is an address where control of the address sits entirely with a private key stored off-chain. Think of the private key as a password -- and whoever has the password controls the account. The canonical example of such an address is an Ethereum address that is not a smart contract, it is just an address secured by a private key held by some person. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.chainargos.com/documentation/concept-glossary/address-types/externally-owned-account-eoa.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.