According to their website, the company that runs MetaMask, Consensys, has recently changed their Privacy Policy to say that whenever a user sends a transaction, they are collecting both the user’s IP address and their ETH address.
The policy states:
“When you use Infura as your default RPC provider in MetaMask, Infura will collect your IP address and your Ethereum wallet address when you send a transaction.”
Infura is an application programming interface (API)-based tool that enables users to link their application to the Ethereum network. Ethereum serves as the foundation for a number of important Web3 projects, including Aragon, Gnosis, OpenZeppelin, and ConsenSys’s very own flagship wallet service, MetaMask.
Consensys adds:
“However, if you’re using your own Ethereum node or a third-party RPC provider with MetaMask, then neither Infura nor MetaMask will collect your IP address or Ethereum wallet address.”
The company has been receiving feedback from customers who are unhappy with the recent policy change. Dan Finlay, the creator of Metamask, responded to the outcry on Twitter by claiming that he believes they will soon be able to resolve the issue. He went on to say that even though the IP addresses are being temporarily saved, they are not being used in any way.
However, ConsenSys is not the only company that has lately taken the choice to increase the quantity of data that it gathers from its user base. Other companies have also made this decision.
The recent FTX catastrophe has already caused so much harm that cannot be repaired to the industry, and now many companies are openly disclosing that they are collecting user data.
