Many people use MetaMask, a cryptocurrency wallet, but it has been criticized for using an old-fashioned web marketing trick: an invisible iFrame (called “1X1”) to add trackers to its browser app. This iFrame, called “analytics_iFrame,” makes people worried about their privacy because it collects information about users without their permission.
A researcher recently made it public that famous cryptocurrency wallets collect data, which sheds light on problems with the MetaMask and Avalanche browser extensions.
Many browsers and advertising sites have banned iFrames because they have been abused in the past, but MetaMask’s extension still uses this method, which could get around normal web safety measures. When you first use MetaMask, you have to agree to the terms of service, which include a general disclaimer about third-party content and services that doesn’t say anything specific about data collection or secret iFrames.
![MetaMask and Avalanche extensions caught spying image 55](https://i0.wp.com/nosisnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image-55.png?resize=1024%2C324&ssl=1)
![MetaMask and Avalanche extensions caught spying image 55](https://i0.wp.com/nosisnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image-55.png?resize=1024%2C324&ssl=1)
A similar problem was found in the Avalanche blockchain network, where a researcher found data-gathering activities in the Core App Chrome app. Avalanche used to be an open-source platform, but now it has added analytics code to its extension.
The analytics part is still closed source, though. The information gathered includes information about transactions, mouse clicks, and what users do in Avalanche’s wallet browser extension and with its own coin, AVAX. As with MetaMask, the need for data trackers in these crypto wallets, which have millions of users, has made people wonder if these practices are necessary and clear.
REKTbuildr, the researcher, thinks that both MetaMask and Avalanche might send anonymous audience data to their own UI/UX teams or to marketers outside of their companies. Concerns about user privacy and safety in the decentralized finance (DeFi) world are raised by the fact that these crypto wallets’ terms of service don’t make these data collection practices clear or plain.
As more people use crypto wallets to store and manage their digital assets, the industry is under more scrutiny to make sure it is open, follows ethical standards, and has strong security measures.
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