- ConsenSys announced that it will begin collecting the IP addresses of its users and the Ethereum addresses that make a transaction using Infura.
- If a person uses their own Ethereum node or a third-party provider with MetaMask, then ConsenSys ensures that “neither Infura nor MetaMask will collect your IP address or Ethereum wallet address.”
- The new policy makes it clear that the information collected may be disclosed to affiliates based on business agreements or to comply with regulations associated with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML).
This November 23 ConsenSys, developer of MetaMask, revealed the update your privacy policy where you tell your users that you will start collecting your users’ IP addresses as well as Ethereum addresses when they send a transaction for those who use infura.
For those unfamiliar, Infura is a tool that allows users to connect their app to the Ethereum network and is the default RPC for MetaMask. An RPC is a software communication protocol that allows communication between different systems to exchange information.
So, after the upgrade, when a person uses Infura as the default Remote Procedure Call (RPC) provider in MetaMask, it will collect their IP address and Ethereum address.
Whileif a person uses their own Ethereum node or a third-party provider with MetaMask, then ConsenSys ensures that “neither Infura nor MetaMask will collect your IP address or Ethereum wallet address”.
An attack on privacy?
It is well known that many crypto users make it a priority to keep their personal information private and MetaMask, being a decentralized crypto wallet, has often been considered as a more private option compared to other centralized wallets.
Now ConsenSys has updated its privacy policy, being a somewhat controversial decision for the crypto community.
“When you use Infura as your default RPC provider in MetaMask, Infura will collect your IP address and Ethereum wallet address when you send a transaction. However, if you are using your own Ethereum node or a third-party RPC provider with MetaMask, neither Infura nor MetaMask will collect your IP address or Ethereum wallet address.”, explains the updated privacy policy.
Likewisethe new policy makes it clear that information collected may be disclosed to affiliates based on business agreements or to comply with regulations associated with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and while MetaMask users will be able to select another RPC provider, of course, they will also be subject to each provider’s collection policy.
Violated user data
But perhaps more concerning, ConsenSys is not the first, and probably not the last, to make the decision to increase the amount of data it collects from its users. For example, Uniswap, another decentralized crypto exchange, has also started collecting off-chain data, such as the type of device the user is using.
One of the ideals of the crypto market is financial freedom, from which follows the right to decide to remain anonymous, Therefore, the recent decision of MetaMask removes that possibility from its users. Let’s keep in mind that it is one of the most popular self-custody wallets on the market.
Many users who value their privacy are likely to look to use another RPC provider with more adequate privacy policies or even decide to abandon MetaMask and switch to other wallets like Trust Wallet.
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