The controversy swells as the MetaMask wallet revealed in a new privacy policy that it collects sensitive data about its users. Teams had to explain what was done with the data, but that wasn’t enough to appease the community.
MetaMask and the data collected
We reported to you yesterday that MetaMask would collect IP data from its users by default, via its parent company Consensys. A change that made the community jump, while the practices of crypto companies have been particularly scrutinized for weeks. To calm the situation, MetaMask issued a press release, explaining that this data was not used:
“Our policy has always explained that certain information is automatically collected about how users use our sites, including the fact that this information may include IP addresses.ยป
Nothing new for MetaMask, which explains that when users interact with blockchains via a third party, such as Infura, the latter collects both the IP address and the wallet address in order to provide the service. As a reminder, Infura is the service that connects the wallet to the browsers used with MetaMask.
Dan Finlay, one of the co-founders of MetaMask, further clarified that this could be “fixed” soonwhile claiming that these IP addresses were only temporarily stored and not used:
I think we can get this fixed soon. We are not using IP addresses even if they are being temporarily stored, which they don’t need to be, as we’re not using them for anything.
โ Dan Finlay ๐ฆ๐ (@danfinlay) November 24, 2022
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User addresses tied to a single IP address
But that was not enough to appease the community. Developer Micah Zoltu reported on Twitter that when users open MetaMask, Infura collects their IP address, as well as all associated wallet addresses. If a Ledger wallet is connected, the linked addresses will also be collected by Infura:
Their policy needs to be updated to say:
As soon as you unlock your account, Infura will collect your IP address and *all* of your addresses. Also, when you connect a ledger it will send all of those addresses to Infura as well.https://t.co/1MnmhKWp9iโ Micah Zoltu (@MicahZoltu) November 24, 2022
What this means is that an IP address is linked to a group of addresses belonging to the same person. It actually creates a particularly vulnerable database. As several commentators have pointed out, MetaMask does this for efficiency reasons: it allows you to create only one request in order to update the various balances on the listed addresses.
But does that justify to potentially expose users? This is the question that is asked. The community has made its distrust known. In the context of uncertainty following the FTX affair, service providers are particularly watched โ and their actions analysed.
๐ Also in the news โ Binance targets $1 billion for its crypto emergency fund
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Source: Consensys
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Journalist at Cryptoast, I fell into the pot of cryptocurrencies a few years ago. I am passionate about the innovative technologies that stem from the blockchain and I like to find the most crispy information to share with you.
Marine Debelloir
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