RPC endpoints and privacy
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 4 min
In short
Wallets and dapps reach a blockchain through a gateway known as an RPC endpoint. Because so many users keep the same large provider's default, that provider accumulates addresses, IPs and activity histories. Knowing where you are actually connecting is the first step.
Key points
- Wallet traffic tends to concentrate at a few gateways
- Addresses, IPs and actions accumulate on the provider's side
- The endpoint can be inspected and changed in wallet settings
- Malicious endpoints have been used to falsify displayed balances
Definition
The server gateway a wallet or application connects to in order to read from and write to a blockchain. Balance lookups and broadcasts pass through it, so the operator sees what the user is doing.
Install a browser wallet and it almost certainly ships with one provider's endpoint preconfigured. Balance displays, token loading and broadcasts all pass through it, and most users never notice it is there.
From the provider's side, the logs show which IP queried which address's balance and which contracts were called. With so many users funnelled through the same gateway, the volume of data is considerable. This is not misconduct; it is simply how the architecture works.
The options are to choose your endpoint deliberately, to spread across several, or to run your own node and point only your wallet at it. Safety cuts the other way, though: configuring an endpoint of unknown provenance risks being shown false balances or fabricated transaction results.
Watch out for
- · An endpoint of unknown origin can show you falsified balances and results
- · Even free tiers differ in how long usage logs are retained
- · Changing endpoints does not remove the transaction from the public ledger