Funds can be deposited with knowledge of the public key, but withdrawn only with access to the private key. (uphold.com)
Since the backup phrase gives a bitcoin wallet access to your private key, you can use the 12 - word backup phrase to recover your bitcoin if your device is stolen or damaged. (blog.bitpay.com)
Few exchanges are complained for not allowing their users to have access to the private keys of their digital wallets. (kryptomoney.com)