Infura Collecting MetaMask Users’ IP, Ethereum Addresses After Privacy Policy Update
New changes to the API tool Infura from ConsenSys have caused a stir in the crypto community because it will now start collecting the IP addresses of its users.
ConsenSys has informed users who use its popular Infrura tool that it plans to collect more information from them. Infura is an API-based tool that lets users connect their applications to the Ethereum network. The Ethereum network is the backbone of many important Web3 projects, like Aragon, Gnosis, OpenZeppelin, and MetaMask, which is ConsenSys’s flagship wallet service.
ConsenSys Privacy Policy
According to changes to ConsenSys’ privacy policy, when you use Infura as your default remote procedure call (RPC) provider in MetaMask, it will collect your IP address and your Ethereum wallet address every time you make a transaction.
Before, they did not collect our IP address, so what they collected was when we used MetaMask and other Infura API-based applications, which are used in web3.
They already give this sensitive information in our metamask wallet which some important info, contact information, market research activities, financial information, and more.
In this ConsenSys privacy update blog post the company said that its “policy has always said that certain information is automatically collected about how users use our sites and that this information may include IP addresses.” The company also said that this isn’t “Infura-specific” and that this type of data collection “is consistent with how web architecture works in general.”
How you PROTECT YOUR MetaMask PRIVACY
If you use your own Ethereum node or a third-party RPC provider with MetaMask, ConsenSys company says that “neither Infura nor MetaMask will collect your IP address or Ethereum wallet address.”
I suggest that you change your RPC. This will take 2 minutes, and I’ll show you step-by-step how to do it.
Step 1: Sign up for an Alchemy account after you sign up complete the first page you appear then click to “create app”
Create App then enter your name and description and then click “Create APP”.
Step 2: After creating ap now you can see the “View Key” option when you click the then copy the “HTTPS” address
Step 3: Now open your metamask wallet from your browser extension and click the dropdown that says “Ethereum Mainnet” at the top of the window. Look to the bottom of that menu and click “Add Network.” Click the blue “add a network manually” link towards the bottom of that menu. Now you fill out this form and paste your Alchemy Https address in “New RPC URL” Network name Ethereum Alchemy, chain id “1” and currency symbol ETH.
- Network: Ethereum Alchemy
- RPC URL: Your Alchemy “HTTPS” address
- Chain ID: 1
- Symbol: ETH Block
- Explorer: https://etherscan.io
You’re done. You are not tracked anymore
Read More: Ethereum client teams try out staking withdrawals on devnet
Conclusion
ConsenSys isn’t the only company that has recently decided to increase the amount of user data it collects.
Uniswap has recently started collecting some off-chain information, such as the type of device or browser being used by a user. The company says this is to improve the user experience.
Alchemy, QuickNode, Moralis, and Tatum are some of the other RPCs that Ethereum developers can use. These tools also have their own rules about how they collect data, which could also change in the future.
Originally published at https://cryptoavanza.com on November 25, 2022.
