Financial tracking app asking for BTC address

[InnerSeabird]

I've got a financial tracking app that can keep track of my net worth. I can add a bitcoin address and it will keep track of my BTC, and include it in the total.

Do I have any reason to be concerned about giving this app my bitcoin address? Will it only be able to view my wallet total/transactions?

Should I create a new address for this purpose?

I use bitcoin core

[1714666071]

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[BitMaxz]

It won't be a problem since you share only the public key/bitcoin address to track your net worth.

If you are concerned about your wallet privacy then you shouldn't share it with unknown apps and yes it can only watch your transaction and balances and you don't need to create a new BTC address.

[Solosanz]

The reason concerned when you share your public key to the application is your privacy would be harmed. The application might collected and share the personal information they get from you e.g. email address, password, IP address, your Bitcoin balance etc, they could even sell it without your knowing. It's better if you setup your own financial tracking by using trusted and open source spreadsheet.

[Tytanowy Janusz]

Do I have any reason to be concerned about giving this app my bitcoin address?

As long as its only a public key you should be safe. (not your private key or seed phrase). The only thing you should be worried is the fact that if these data will be compromised, hackers knows exacly how much money you have and where it is. If you used your email to register, the same email you used somwhere else with your personal data (like phone number, name, surname, address - like when you buy in online store) its possible it was already compromised and traded in big leaked files on darknet. They can now attach more sensitive data (your net worth) to old packages and continue to trade it on the darknet. Guess who will be intterested in buying such database (mr XX yy, home address zzzz, net worth >...... ).

[Kemarit]

I've got a financial tracking app that can keep track of my net worth. I can add a bitcoin address and it will keep track of my BTC, and include it in the total.

Do I have any reason to be concerned about giving this app my bitcoin address? Will it only be able to view my wallet total/transactions?

Should I create a new address for this purpose?

I use bitcoin core

Well if you don't like anyone to see your holdings then why used that financial app? Although bitcoin addresses doesn't have names, who knows, maybe someone is going to track you down and try to hack you.

Privacy centric individual uses or create new address for every transaction as far as I know. So if you want to protect yourself, much better to create a new address, in my opinion.

[Jet Cash]

Do you have to include all of your addresses in the app?

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Do I have any reason to be concerned about giving this app my bitcoin address?

How sure are you with the app reliability on trust, going by tracking your financial flow isn't a bad idea but you must be careful not to ket that be a means to track you on phishing attack through malicious apps such as this, your keys or details may be leaked, possible attack can set in, but this should even be something you can take time to run by yourself without seeking the help of a notifying app to engage such track for you, always think about the risk that could be involved before concluding on using any.

[CryptSafe]

I've got a financial tracking app that can keep track of my net worth. I can add a bitcoin address and it will keep track of my BTC, and include it in the total.
Do I have any reason to be concerned about giving this app my bitcoin address? Will it only be able to view my wallet total/transactions?
Should I create a new address for this purpose?
I use bitcoin core

Before I make any comment, I will ask you this, have you been able to check the reviews on the app on trustpilot to know peoples view and experience about the app because that would give you a little hint on the app reliability. The idea of tracking your assets is not bad but the fact that the wallet would expose your networth us the problem. Hackers if I am not mistaken uses these app to gain access to people's funds, stealing of information linking your wallet to steal your assets. I suggest you give this a rethink because apps are softwares designed for some specific purpose and here you are thinking of downloading the assets tracking app without any knowledge of the developer. What if the app is designed with some malware to stealing or exposing your information to hackers, do you not think you have granted them access to your assets?

[maydna]

What are you doing that for? Is there any other purpose besides tracking your net worth? If you just keep BTC in your wallet, you can immediately see how much your wealth is in FIAT, so you don't need to use a financial tracking application, especially if it's issued by someone else. Also, on bitcoin core, you can see how much BTC and money you have.

It's better for you to see the total/transactions in your wallet than to use the application. But it's up to you, and you have to find out the risks for yourself.

[AverageGlabella]

The application will only see the address you input and cannot steal your Bitcoin as long as you are giving it the public address and not the private key make sure that you understand which one is which other wise you could make a mistake and lose all your money. If you care about privacy I recommend not using a tracking app and just use a blockchain explorer and add the total amount of btc in your address to your total fiat money and you should have the same result without giving someone your address which they could use to track every transaction you make and the amount of money you own.

[BlackHatCoiner]

I'm sorry, but am I the only one who recognizes danger beyond handing over private keys? If an app asks you to write a private key, it's a scam. Period. That should be taken for granted. But that doesn't mean you should hand over your addresses to any stranger, just because he can't take your money.

I'd neither trust a closed-source (I presume) app that requests my Bitcoin activity for obvious reasons: privacy violation. Why would an app need my addresses to determine my portfolio? Can't I just type that myself, without sharing any addresses?

[FatFork]

I've got a financial tracking app that can keep track of my net worth. I can add a bitcoin address and it will keep track of my BTC, and include it in the total.

If you want to, you can probably manually enter the amount of your cryptocurrency holdings (like BTC) in some applications to achieve the same effect as using an automatic API or integration. The specific application you're using will determine whether or not this is possible, but it's definitely worth exploring as an option.

Do I have any reason to be concerned about giving this app my bitcoin address? Will it only be able to view my wallet total/transactions?

When it comes to the security of your crypto assets, you don't need to worry. However, when it comes to privacy, it's important to be aware that there are some potential risks to consider.

Should I create a new address for this purpose?

I use bitcoin core

It's entirely up to you and your personal preferences. As I mentioned previously, one option to consider is manually entering your amounts without providing too much of your personal information to the app.

[witcher_sense]

I've got a financial tracking app that can keep track of my net worth. I can add a bitcoin address and it will keep track of my BTC, and include it in the total.

The first question why do you need additional software for something that can be done with software that initially generated your address? Your wallet, for example, can track your balance and show it in whatever form you wish. If you are also a mobile user who value privacy and self-sovereignity in transactions, you can download Bluewallet which offers some advanced functionality: you can connect your mobile to the Bitcoin Core full node you are running on your computer. Check this small guide, it may give you some food for thought: https://bitcoiner.guide/blue/

Do I have any reason to be concerned about giving this app my bitcoin address? Will it only be able to view my wallet total/transactions?

You should avoid services asking you to whitelist your address via providing personal information.

[bittraffic]

If want nothing to worry about, it's best not to share a BTC address at all.

Even if it's just a BTC address it can trace your accounts from which exchanges you have been by tracing the origin of your coins. It depends on where you are from also. If you are from a country where the government is cracking taxes on crypto then I guess you might just give it so they know you are paying.

[mendace]

I've got a financial tracking app that can keep track of my net worth. I can add a bitcoin address and it will keep track of my BTC, and include it in the total.

Do I have any reason to be concerned about giving this app my bitcoin address? Will it only be able to view my wallet total/transactions?

Should I create a new address for this purpose?

I use bitcoin core

It is important to ensure that the app is trustworthy and secure before providing the Bitcoin address.  Typically, financial tracking apps don't ask for the private keys of the Bitcoin wallet, just the public address.

Instead, if it were to request the private key or the seed then it is not an app to be trusted.

[so98nn]

It won't be a problem since you share only the public key/bitcoin address to track your net worth.

If you are concerned about your wallet privacy then you shouldn't share it with unknown apps and yes it can only watch your transaction and balances and you don't need to create a new BTC address.

All you need to know when you are in the crypto space and have to give away some random codes. 

I have been there actually when I started very fresh in the crypto. When I first generated my address I did not even think about public and private addresses from bitcoin org website. I was so excited about it that I sent screenshot to my friends who introduced myself to the bitcoin universe. Believe me they had greatest laugh on that day in WhatsApp group.

Why would not they? I had laughable mistake but they soon taught me what went wrong. Since then I am not even taking screenshots of my addresses which is again malpractice in the crypto game.

Better learn basics before using them. As stated here it wont be problem to share your public address.

[The Cryptovator]

Other than privacy concerns, there are no drawbacks to entering your address there, but is it really necessary? With an explorer, you can bookmark your address and check it at any moment. Just wondering why using an app is required for tracking your assets. But, until you tainted your seed/private keys, this is not dangerous. Without private keys or a seed phrase, funds from your address cannot be tampered.

[PrivacyG]

I am on the very edge.  No idea if I think it is safe or not.  If you are using a Financial Tracking app, I assume you already do not care about your Privacy in which case it probably does not matter if you share this information with them.  Want my opinion?  I would never do this because I value my Privacy.

After all, it is about you and what you want.  Do you trust this Financial Tracking app?  Do you trust the developers?  The owners?  If you hand them this information, chances are they will sell it away to some body else.  Do you mind that, or do you just not care.  If you care, do not hand them this information.

You likely already gave a lot of people the information that you own this amount of Bitcoin.  By using a Bitcoin Explorer to check your Address balance, you are doing just this.  You are giving them the information that the balance of that Address is in your interest.  If you search it once, they may not link it to you.  But if you specifically search your own TXIDs, Addresses et cetera multiple times, they will link it to you with great accuracy.

The whole thing you are asking is surrounded by a question.  Do you care about your Privacy?

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Regards,
PrivacyG

[Baofeng]

I see similar tracking bitcoin apps, it's either you

1. just type your bitcoin address and it will fetch how much bitcoin it had
2. create a account on that app, and save your bitcoin address

So there is more danger on option 2 specially privacy as others pointed out. I mean I have no idea why someone will put their addresses on that app in the first place You can just used the old and reliable,

https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/addresses/btc/[insert your bitcoin address here].

[NotATether]

It won't be a problem since you share only the public key/bitcoin address to track your net worth.

Actually it's not even the public key that they get since addresses are one-way hashes of them - there's no way to get back even the public key.

It should be straightforward to use the blockchain.com API or some other API to periodically update your address balance for you, without having to register. In fact, there's nothing to register for in the first place.