Is this true about Metamask?

[KiaKia]

Is it true that Metamask is not a decentralised wallet? I watch a video right now explaining that Metamask wallet collects data😲 and they use infura which is centralized, even Ip address are collected?

How true is this? If this is true then there is no point using this wallet at all and people who don't know should stay away. Unless someone prove me wrong.

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[jackg]

ALL spv wallets can collect your data, if you're not downloading and managing the blockchain yourself, your addresses are easy for the owner of the server to find.

It's still decentralised though - decentralisation is different from distributed (where only nodes can communicate and connect to the network).

Metamask is also still open source too so anyone can contribute to it.

[coupable]

Is it true that Metamask is not a decentralised wallet? I watch a video right now explaining that Metamask wallet collects data😲 and they use infura which is centralized, even Ip address are collected?

I have read about a similar topic a while ago, where some (but not all) users were surprised that they were unable to carry out their transfers using Metamask on the browser, and it seems that users from certain regions such as Syria and some countries that suffer from international sanctions have been targeted. Users indicated that a malfunction message appears to them every time they want to make a transfer, and this was the first indication that developers have the ability to change settings and set usage limits.
Metamask wallet is considered relatively safe, but it is preferable not to be completely reliable.

[JeromeTash]

Is it true that Metamask is not a decentralised wallet?

I think the right word you are looking for here is "Noncustodial wallet"
Decentralized seems like a misplaced term

I watch a video right now explaining that Metamask wallet collects data😲 and they use infura which is centralized, even Ip address are collected?

How true is this? If this is true then there is no point using this wallet at all and people who don't know should stay away. Unless someone prove me wrong.

Of course, they do collected the data. It's no a lie and their privacy policy was also updated 2 days ago

Look here:


https://consensys.net/privacy-policy/

[hd49728]

Is it true that Metamask is not a decentralised wallet? I watch a video right now explaining that Metamask wallet collects data😲 and they use infura which is centralized, even Ip address are collected?

They claim that they don't collect user information and wallet seed. After years of operation, there is no detection or complain from community, users about that but maybe there are things hidden behind their statement. Who knows?

I am sure your IP addresses can be collected easily by Metamask.

They are non custodial wallets and you have access to wallet seeds but you only don't know whether Metamask owns it too.

A good non custodial wallet is an open-source and you can download, verify it and use it offline. Offline means you can create your wallet offline, without Internet connection.

[Apocollapse]

Decentralized or non custodial are nothing to do with privacy!

Metamask is non custodial but centralized which mean this wallet give you private key, but they can restrict an account that from Iran, Venezuela and Ukraine [1] they might add more countries in the future.

If you use hardware wallet, you're also expose your privacy since you need to publish your location when you want to bought it.

If you're really care with privacy, you must use decentralized coin, decentralized exchange, mixer and set up your own cold storage.

[1] https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/crypto/metamask-opensea-bars-iran-and-venezuelian-users-after-russias-attack-on-ukraine-7804839/

[tech30338]

Is it true that Metamask is not a decentralised wallet? I watch a video right now explaining that Metamask wallet collects data😲 and they use infura which is centralized, even Ip address are collected?

How true is this? If this is true then there is no point using this wallet at all and people who don't know should stay away. Unless someone prove me wrong.

I think what you are saying about collects data is the transactions being process and can be seen in the explorer correct me if I'm wrong, with the ip address if you are familiar with layers of the network this have process and it travels through servers until it reach its destinations and its very important and there is no way to hide it, starting from your local network going outside there is an information being process so its normal, connecting to other networks with alter information that might be dangerous because there are exploits for example in metamask if you want to change network because of a certain coin that needs to be setup that i think you need to double check carefully, and also careful with your metamask wallet, and the key, don't just connect to unknown and new networks just for free coins or airdrops.

[witcher_sense]

Is it true that Metamask is not a decentralised wallet? I watch a video right now explaining that Metamask wallet collects data😲 and they use infura which is centralized, even Ip address are collected?

How true is this? If this is true then there is no point using this wallet at all and people who don't know should stay away. Unless someone prove me wrong.

There is no such concept as a decentralized wallet because it is just a code, a piece of software that is being developed by a centralized group of people. If these people stop developing and maintaining Metamask, it is highly unlikely it will continue to exist as a reliable wallet. However, the process of development can be somewhat decentralized because you can organize this process and set the rules about who can make changes and under what conditions they can be made. The problem with Metamask is that it is built for a centralized blockchain, where the number of full nodes is extremely low. Even if your wallet is non-custodial and is being developed in a decentralized manner, you still rely on data provided by centralized entities. Given that these centralized services are the only source of information that makes your wallet work, it is in their power to tell you what to do, which transactions to block, and what data to collect.

[Sarah Azhari]

Is it true that Metamask is not a decentralised wallet? I watch a video right now explaining that Metamask wallet collects data😲 and they use infura which is centralized, even Ip address are collected?

How true is this? If this is true then there is no point using this wallet at all and people who don't know should stay away. Unless someone prove me wrong.

If you worry about the IP address, why you don't install metamask through TOR as the extension (use firefox add-ons)?
But, that makes you a bit busy because TOR will delete all cookies and cache after you closed. Then when you want to open Tor and Metamask again, you must insert the mnemonic seed again, just simply like that.

[albon]

Is it true that Metamask is not a decentralised wallet? I watch a video right now explaining that Metamask wallet collects data😲 and they use infura which is centralized, even Ip address are collected?

How true is this? If this is true then there is no point using this wallet at all and people who don't know should stay away. Unless someone prove me wrong.

Yes, this is true, as MetaMask will collect the IP addresses and the addresses of the wallets when making transfers via the default RPC on the wallet, and the RPC data is the data that you enter when adding a new blockchain network to the MetaMask. Frankly, this contradicts the nature of decentralized wallets that give users high privacy. In my opinion, after collecting this data, it will be easy to reveal the identity of the users, especially if they are users from European countries because they use the static IP, so the solution is to use a VPN to change the IP and use RPC information from a third party that does not collect this data and replaces the default Ethereum blockchain information on the MetaMask wallet.

[Jawhead999]

Yes, this is true, as MetaMask will collect the IP addresses and the addresses of the wallets when making transfers via the default RPC on the wallet, and the RPC data is the data that you enter when adding a new blockchain network to the MetaMask. Frankly, this contradicts the nature of decentralized wallets that give users high privacy. In my opinion, after collecting this data, it will be easy to reveal the identity of the users, especially if they are users from European countries because they use the static IP, so the solution is to use a VPN to change the IP and use RPC information from a third party that does not collect this data and replaces the default Ethereum blockchain information on the MetaMask wallet.

Come on, above user already corrected the wrong word, it's non custodial wallet not decentralized wallet.

Non custodial doesn't mean it's offer high privacy, it just offer you a high security since you're the only one who own the private key except you're revealing it to anyone. They don't have anything to do with privacy, it's just up to the wallet that want to offer privacy or not.

If you think VPN will solve this issue than you're wrong, VPN will give you a low privacy and as long as you're still connect your wallet to central server (not run in full node, although it's impossible in ETH or BNB) your privacy can still leaked.

[vv181]

Infura logging IP an address seems blowup news, it is ironic that most people didn't realize what is the capability of an SPV wallet, especially when combined with their own RPC. Where are the people when they ban or censor users within a specific country, didn't they think somehow they already had those capabilities way long ago?

IMO, the main problem of ETH is that ecosystem didn't think thoroughly about the consequence of centralization, this causes, and also makes most users won't bother running their own node. If someone did not want their privacy taken up, they must use their own controlled nodes or RPC to connect to the network. Even if you choose another third-party RPC, there isn't any assurance they won't secretly log an IP.

[Findingnemo]

Is it true that Metamask is not a decentralised wallet? I watch a video right now explaining that Metamask wallet collects data😲 and they use infura which is centralized, even Ip address are collected?

How true is this? If this is true then there is no point using this wallet at all and people who don't know should stay away. Unless someone prove me wrong.

Metamask don't save your private keys but they know the address but still its available for anyone to see the transaction details on the blockchain explorers and I don't remember we need to enter any of our personal details to create metamask wallet so the data isn't that sensitive even if they share for their benefits...

However decentralized doesn't really mean completely anonymous, if you're looking for complete privacy then you need to use the privacy coins instead of ethereum.

[JeromeTash]

So what is mesmerizing is that metamask still has that assuring message on the landing page as one is trying to get started with the wallet stating that they will never collect any data including the IP addresses with is false [ chrome-extension://nkbihfbeogaeaoehlefnkodbefgpgknn/home.html#initialize/metametrics-opt-in ]. I think they should categorically edit or modify that part. It will definintely be very misleading to noobs.

[Tabani Pierson]

While it's true that Metamask collects some data and uses centralized services like Infura, it's still a decentralized wallet that allows you to control your own private keys.

Whether or not you decide to use Metamask ultimately depends on your own preferences and risk tolerance. If you're uncomfortable with the level of centralization involved, there are other decentralized wallet options available that may better suit your needs.

[Pezroly]

Metamask is decentralised wallet and can collect your IP, when you open it with password. MetaMask Privacy Policy - https://consensys.net/privacy-policy/ says that they collect IP with ETH transfers, if you use their ETH node, but not collecting IP with your own ETH node. So probably if you use also another network, like BNB Smart Chain, MetaMask wallet will not collect any information.