On Wednesday, ConsenSys released an updated privacy policy contract that said that starting with on-chain transactions, MetaMask would start logging IP addresses and addresses of Ethereum wallets of users.
Nevertheless, the developer of the wallet, ConsenSys, notes that using Infura, the default Remote Procedure Call (RPC) application provided by MetaMask, will exempt users from the data collecting. Thus, users of MetaMask who are utilizing their own Ethereum node, or an external RPC provider are not covered by the most recent ConsenSys privacy policy. Rather, the other RPC provider’s terms are in effect.
In accordance with ConsenSys, information obtained in this way may be provided to partners, through business transactions, or to satisfy law enforcement mandated Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering regulations.
With over 21 million monthly users, MetaMask is presently among the most prevalent self-custody wallets available.
The cryptocurrency community has largely responded negatively. “There is nothing more important than consumer privacy, especially when it comes to your financial data — you have a right to be anonymous. Metamask has provided a great free service for a long time, but their decision to log IPs and tie it to transactions is unacceptable,” said a Cinneamhain Ventures partner, Adam Cochran.
1/3
Alright this Metamask privacy lapse is yet another dumb move from Consensys.
Shill me your best easy self-hosted nodes either hardware or SaaS service.
Whichever I pick, I’ll give away a few freebies of, to at least 3 people who retweet this to promote privacy!
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) November 24, 2022
3/3
Consensys started as an org that was deeply intertwined with the values of this space. Privacy, decentralization and FoSS.
But more and more they’ve used their market dominance to make horrible corporate driven choices and we need to push for better options.
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) November 24, 2022
In response to questions, the creator of Uniswap, Hayden Adams, stated that neither the decentralized exchange nor any third-party applications on the network are permitted to track IP addresses.
In part owing to more stringent laws, ConsenSys has joined the list of significant Web3 businesses like Coinbase that have implemented IP collecting.