How to Revoke NFT Permissions to Protect Your Wallet?

Understanding NFT Permission Risks

1. Many decentralized applications request unlimited approval when users connect their wallets to interact with NFTs.

2. These approvals grant smart contracts the ability to transfer any NFT from your wallet without further consent.

3. Compromised or malicious contracts can drain entire NFT collections if permissions remain active.

4. Even trusted platforms may undergo code upgrades that introduce unintended access vectors.

5. Wallet interfaces rarely display active approvals, making it easy to overlook lingering authorizations.

Identifying Active Approvals

1. Etherscan and Basescan provide token approval lookup tools under the “Token Approvals” tab on wallet address pages.

2. Users must manually enter their wallet address and select the relevant chain to retrieve a full list of approved contracts.

3. Each entry shows the spender address, the token type (ERC-721 or ERC-1155), and the allowance status—often marked as “infinite”.

4. Third-party dashboards like Revoke.cash aggregate approvals across multiple chains and highlight high-risk spenders.

5. Some wallets such as Rabby and MetaMask now include built-in permission managers accessible via settings or security panels.

Executing Permission Revocation

1. Navigate to Revoke.cash, paste your wallet address, and select the target network to load all active approvals.

2. Review each listed contract—pay close attention to unfamiliar or low-reputation addresses.

3. Click “Revoke” next to suspicious or obsolete entries; the site will generate and broadcast a transaction to reset the allowance to zero.

4. Confirm the transaction in your wallet interface and wait for block confirmation—typically under two minutes on Ethereum L1.

5. Repeat the process for every chain where you hold NFTs, including Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

Preventing Future Exposure

1. Use wallet extensions that support per-transaction approval limits instead of blanket infinite allowances.

2. Avoid connecting wallets to unverified marketplaces or experimental minting sites unless absolutely necessary.

3. Regularly audit approvals every 14 days, especially after interacting with new NFT projects or DAO governance portals.

4. Enable hardware wallet signing for all approval-related transactions to add an extra layer of physical verification.

5. Bookmark official contract addresses for major platforms like OpenSea, Blur, and LooksRare to cross-check against unknown spenders.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I revoke permissions without paying gas fees?Yes. Some tools like Revoke.cash offer batch revocation with optimized calldata compression, but most standard revokes require a base transaction fee. Gasless options exist only on select L2s with sponsored meta-transactions.

Q: Does revoking permissions affect my ability to list NFTs on marketplaces?No. Revoking does not remove ownership or prevent future re-approval. You’ll need to re-approve the marketplace’s contract before listing again, which is a deliberate safety step.

Q: What happens if I revoke permissions for a staking contract I’m actively using?You will no longer be able to claim rewards or unstake assets until you re-approve the contract. Always verify current usage before revoking active staking or lending approvals.

Q: Are ERC-1155 approvals handled the same way as ERC-721?Yes. Both standards use identical setApprovalForAll mechanics on Ethereum-compatible chains, so the revocation process applies uniformly across NFT types.