MetaMask has announced the launch of privacy-preserving security alerts in the MetaMask extension. This new feature makes MetaMask wallet to integrate native security alerts, proactively preventing malicious transactions, protecting users from scams, phishing, and hacks, all while preserving users’ privacy.  

MetaMask and Blockaid estimate that these privacy-preserving security alerts, available to all users globally, aim to prevent billions worth of assets from being stolen. The official launch is slated to commence on October 31st, 2023, with the ability for desktop users to opt-in under the MetaMask experimental setting. The feature will debut on the MetaMask mobile app later in November. By the first quarter of 2024, this new feature will be seamlessly integrated and enabled into the wallet by default, and the intention is to make it available to 100 per cent of MetaMask’s users.

“With these native privacy-preserving security alerts, MetaMask is not only enhancing user safety but also setting a new standard for privacy-preserving security in the web3 ecosystem. Privacy is a core value of web3 and should not need to be sacrificed to improve usability. Instead, it should be a guiding principle in the development of solutions to improve the space. As we continue to innovate, we remain committed to empowering users and providing them with the tools they need to navigate the world of web3 with confidence”, said Dan Finlay, co-founder of MetaMask and chief ethos officer at Consensys.

In April 2023, MetaMask and Blockaid jointly introduced Opensea security alerts as an experimental opt-in feature. This feature garnered adoption from an average of 4 per cent of MetaMask users and effectively averted asset theft valued at $500 million, based on prevented and identified malicious transactions since April 2023. Due to the success of this experimental opt-in feature, MetaMask and Blockaid anticipate that the new privacy-preserving security alerts will prevent the loss of assets worth at least billions dollars when the feature becomes a default setting for MetaMask wallets.

“This is the driving force behind our focus on creating a privacy-preserving version of security alerts, one that eliminates the need to share each transaction and signature request data with third parties. Blockaid's dapp transaction validation solution protects users from malicious transactions without compromising their privacy”, added Barbara Schorchit, senior product owner at MetaMask.