ConsenSys Promises To Update Data Practices After Privacy Backlash

ConsenSys has updated its privacy policy for two of its core products — MetaMask and Infura — in response to community pushback about how the company managed user data. 

ConsenSys said that it will attempt to change its current system and only hold user wallet and IP addresses for one week. The company also noted that it currently does not store these two pieces of data together “or in a way that allows our systems to associate those two pieces of data.” 

“We are working on narrowing retention to 7 days and we will append these retention policies to our privacy policy in an upcoming update,” ConsenSys wrote in a blog post Tuesday. “We have never and will never sell any user data we collect. We use data strictly in adherence with the use limitations described in our privacy policy.”

ConsenSys only collects wallet and IP addresses when users make a transaction, the company added. 

The update comes after users expressed concerns over ConsenSys’ last privacy update. In late November, the firm clarified to users that wallet and IP addresses were collected and stored, as is the standard for “how web architecture works generally,” ConsenSys wrote in the update.  

Users took to Twitter to express concerns about data privacy and how the information was stored and used. 

“Policy has always stated that certain information is automatically collected about how users use our sites, and that this information may include IP addresses,” ConsenSys countered in its statement. 

Other DeFi user interfaces also collect some user data. For instance, the developer of the largest decentralized exchange, Uniswap Labs, also revealed in November that it collects information including device type, purchases and wallet transfers. Uniswap Labs noted in the update that it does not store “personal data, such as first name, last name, street address, date of birth, email address, or IP address,” however.

The difference is that the Uniswap protocol can be accessed directly via other community-built interfaces, whereas ConsenSys’ MetaMask team controls all updates to its wallet software and surrounding policies.

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