Cryptocurrencies are popular for a lot of reasons, not least is because they’re private and secure. Unlike traditional currencies that are monitored and tracked by banks and financial institutions, crypto transactions are totally private. Or, at least, that’s how they should be.
New apps have been developed that take some of the privacy and anonymity out of crypto by tracking users’ data. While sharing your portfolio size, open orders, price alerts, and diversification might seem insignificant to you, a company that has access to thousands of its users’ data can generate aggregate reports and insights that could give them an edge on the market. This can be used to determine which traders are most profitable and potentially copy their actions. In addition, knowing where thousands of users’ stop losses and take profit zones are, opens doors for market manipulation, especially in an unregulated market like cryptocurrency. Therefore, we should ask ourselves, is the portfolio tracking we’re using tracking us back? Let’s investigate.
How Private Are Cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrencies in general, are more private than using a credit card or bank routing number. Some still say that cash is the most private way to transact, but there are limitations, especially when it comes to investing and saving money, not to mention spending it digitally.
Even though cryptocurrencies are designed to be ultra-secure, there are still ways for hackers to identify you based on your transactions. If anyone gets their hands on your wallet address and can link it to you, then you’re pretty much outed. Bitcoin specifically is the least secure type of cryptocurrency since information is stored and shared on a public ledger. Sure, someone still would need to attach your name to your wallet, which isn’t a matter of public record, so your data is still relatively secure.
The thing that makes cryptocurrency different from other types of digital currency, like using a credit or debit card, or cash transactions is the blockchain. The blockchain exists because there isn’t a third-party financial institution or card merchant to verify the transaction between a buyer and a seller. The blockchain is a public ledger spread across thousands of computers that has every single cryptocurrency transaction recorded on it.
Instead of a third party verifying each transaction, cryptocurrency miners (who are part of the peer-to-peer network that makes up the world of cryptocurrency) confirm and validate the transaction by successfully solving a complex computer problem.
Once a miner has validated the transaction successfully, they broadcast it to the network, which checks the results and adds the new transaction to the blockchain as a new block. Miners get rewarded in the form of new bitcoins.
This democratic reward system encourages miners to focus on solving the problems instead of spending time matching a bitcoin user to their wallet. Even if that weren’t the case, the blockchain is insanely secure because it’s decentralized. Hackers have to break into not just one server but thousands of servers to make a change to the chain, which, as you can imagine, isn’t an easy feat. (That doesn’t mean that hacks don’t happen, as we’ve talked about previously.)
How to Track Your Crypto Securely
Because it’s not a completely perfect system, it’s possible for your information to get leaked or uncovered when you transact with cryptocurrency. The best thing to do is know what the risks are and take measured steps to avoid them.
The first way to keep your crypto secure is to choose the right type of cryptocurrency wallet based on whether you’re an investor, a spender, or a little bit of both.
Next, you’ll need to make sure you’re using a secure portfolio tracker. This is the only way you can keep track of your current cryptocurrency investments and make informed decisions about buying and selling crypto based on how the market’s doing.
Why Use a Crypto Portfolio Tracker
People don’t always think about using a crypto portfolio tracker when they first get into crypto investments, but if you don’t already have one, you need to get one. This is where you’ll be looking to get daily updates on your investments. Portfolio trackers do a few other things as well, including:
- Keeping your portfolio(s) organized in one app, even if you use a mixture of exchanges and wallets.
- Giving you useful data in the form of charts and graphs to track your portfolio over time
- Showing you how balanced (or unbalanced) your portfolio is for risk-management purposes
- Settings price alerts and reading crypto news to stay on top of the market.
What to Watch out for with Your Portfolio Tracker
Now, portfolio trackers are a necessity for anyone who transacts in any fashion with cryptocurrency. But they aren’t all the same. Here are some things to watch out for when you’re downloading a portfolio tracker.
Anonymity
Because portfolio trackers are only organizing your portfolio and not being used for transactions, you shouldn’t need to divulge any personal or critical information when you sign up for one. If you’re paying for an app or getting an in-app upgrade, you should be able to securely input your payment information without having that information recorded or tracked. There is no need to link your name, email or any private information to your crypto assets or wallets.
You can rest assured that Crypto Pro never tracks its users. Crypto Pro doesn’t ask for any personal information that can be used to track you or your actions. All your information is encrypted and stored locally on your device. Nothing is uploaded to our servers; therefore, we cannot see how many coins you are holding, the value of your portfolio, viewing habits, price alerts, stop losses, or public keys, i.e. the things that should remain private. You can use Crypto Pro to track your cryptocurrency without worrying that your information is out and about.
Management, not storage
Your crypto portfolio tracker’s job is to manage your portfolio and keep it organized. It’s not there to store your cryptocurrency. You can connect your wallets and exchanges, and the app will aggregate all your data and display your portfolio analytics. You can also set price alerts and news based on your preferences.
On-screen privacy
Even if your portfolio tracker is secure, you can never predict who can see your screen, especially when you check your portfolio tracker in public settings. Look for a portfolio tracker that has a feature to hide your balance and uses percentages instead so you can check your portfolio without worrying about anybody seeing your personal financial information.
Bottom Line: Should You Be Concerned About Your Privacy?
Some portfolio trackers have access to your information and can track the moves you make. They can use your data the way other websites use your data. They may not act maliciously or intend to misuse your data. However, because one of the main reasons people use crypto is for privacy, anyone who uses a tracker that tracks them back should be concerned.
You don’t have to worry about being tracked with Crypto Pro. You can access all the information you need to make educated decisions about your portfolio without any privacy concerns. Find out more about our commitment to privacy or download the app today!
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