Consensys, the New York-based blockchain software company and developer of MetaMask, the most popular Ethereum wallet, shocked the crypto community and especially proponents of decentralization with the new modifications made to its privacy policy. Edward Snowden, one of the most influential voices for privacy, called it to be a crime if it happened in a society with justice.
MetaMask’s Privacy Concerns
Consensys revised its privacy statement on November 23 to alert MetaMask’s more than 20 million users that when they transact while utilizing Infura as their default Remote Procedure Call (RPC) provider, their IP addresses and Ethereum wallet addresses will be collected and recorded.
In simpler terms, RPC is a software communication protocol that lets web3 apps talk to blockchains in a completely remote way. Consensys bought Infura, a company that makes tools for blockchains and APIs, in October 2019.
Snowden’s Snarky Remark
Edward Snowden took to Twitter, to show his disappointment with the team at Metamask as he thinks the ploy to record personal details under the tag of “decentralization” is near to committing a crime.
However, the tweet was later removed by Snowden and followed up by a newer tweet which stated that he was contacted by MetaMask and that they were working towards providing a clarification.
I’m told by Metamask that they’re working on a response to the question below. Wallet/IP records should never be retained (or shared.)
I’ve deleted my initial tweet, which contained an error (Infura was in fact acquired by Consensys, which also owns Metamask). Hope to hear more. https://t.co/Um0FAqOHh8
- Едвард Сновден (@Сновден) Новембар 25, 2022
Опширније: Едвард Сноуден жели да купи Битцоин Дип за 16.5 хиљада долара
Крипто заједница реагује
Based on the community responses, it is clear that most users are not pleased with this news. The major gripe among the crypto community is, crypto companies that are built on the ethos of privacy, anonymity & decentralization are gradually getting lost.
The fact that ConsenSys is an American company also adds to the distrust for certain customers. This is because the collection of such data may make it easier for government authorities to impose fines and sanctions.
MetaMask & Team Respond
Responding to the arguments made by experts and the crypto community as a whole, MetaMask tried to clear the air by stating that nothing had changed in their privacy policy and it was a mere misunderstanding.
Језик у нашој политици приватности ажуриран је 23. новембра.
Ништа се није променило у начину рада МетаМаска и Инфура.
Ево изјаве која појашњава шта радимо са корисничким подацима (спојлер: ништа).https://t.co/4dDKMvcMvv
— МетаМаск 🦊💙 (@МетаМаск) Новембар 24, 2022
Joseph Lubin, CEO of Consensys & Ethereum’s co-founder, also chimed in to fight accusations of stealing user privacy through the MetaMask app.
He vehemently denied MetaMask being operated by Consensys and added that it was the end-users who operate the app. According to him, Consensys just played the part in developing the software.
Talking about RPC, he pointed that,
“While the end user may gripe, all sorts of web3 dapps use RPC providers, which also need this data to service users. The alternative is few or no usable products in web3. The direction of travel is decentralization of RPC provision.”
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Source: https://coingape.com/edward-snowden-calls-metamasks-new-policy-update-a-crime/