After criticism from users, ConsenSys revises MetaMask's data collection practices, including stopping logging IP addresses directly alongside transaction data
ConsenSys clarified its data sharing practices and said it will rebuild MetaMaks' settings page to address user concerns.
Context & Ripple Effects
Two weeks after ConsenSys disclosed that MetaMask collects IP and Ethereum wallet addresses when users route through its Infura RPC service, user backlash has forced a walk-back: the company says it will stop logging IP addresses directly alongside transaction data and rebuild MetaMask's settings page. The episode lands on a company that raised $450M at a $7B valuation earlier in 2022 on the strength of MetaMask's 30M+ monthly users.
First-order effects
- MetaMask users transacting through Infura no longer have IP addresses logged directly against their transaction data, and the rebuilt settings page gives them clearer visibility into what is shared by default.
Second-order effects
- Rival wallet providers can now compete on data-minimization as a differentiator, while ConsenSys faces pressure to prove Infura's centralized RPC role doesn't quietly reintroduce the same linkage through other telemetry.
Third-order effects
- The pattern points toward privacy defaults becoming table stakes for consumer crypto infrastructure — and toward regulators treating wallet operators like ConsenSys as accountable intermediaries regardless of stated data practices, a dynamic that later surfaced in the SEC's suit alleging MetaMask operated as an unregistered broker.
The trend: Crypto infrastructure companies are being pushed by their own users to unwind Web2-style data collection, forcing privacy concessions faster than regulation would.