Can Bitcoin wallet be traced by IP address?

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 07:36:08 AM

I am just so conciouse about Bitcoin security because my country is not a Bitcoin friendly place, so I just want to be awear, is it possible for any agency to use Bitcoin wallet transaction and track a persons IP to know their location?

Get a router that supports OpenVPN (or Wireguard), signup for double hop VPN, run your own node, connect Bitcoin Core client to it.

Your transactions will be transmitted by your node (which will be visible as an exit IP of your VPN connection), your real IP will be lost
in the entry node of your two hop VPN connection.

If you use OpenVPN VPN provider with no logs, nobody would be able to track your transactions down. Unless they get
the VPN provider watch your connections in real time and log them.

Most VPN providers these days drop logs after connection is done, or don't log at all, unless they are forced by the court order.

If you are paranoid, change the country/VPN server location every time you connect your node or perform a new transaction.

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 08:11:11 AM

Quote from: BitMaxz on March 29, 2023, 08:00:49 AM

I don't think your IP can be tracked I tried to check my all transactions on the explorer but it shows different IP.
Based on what I understand from the transactions the IP came from the peers or nodes where your wallet is connected to so there is a possibility that they can track your IP if the owner of the peer/nodes has IP records.

So if you want to protect your IP then you can set up your wallet to tor setup. Electrum and Bitcoin core has these features.

Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 07:51:44 AM

Sir please I don't understand all the abbreviations and how to use the Tor is what I don't know

Would you mind to tell us what wallet you currently using?

I use trust wallet and that's is because it's the popular wallet that every body is using in my village, will it track my IP?

Ah. The problem is that Trust Wallet collects IP Addresses for "security reasons". If you've used your trust wallet to facilitate transactions, which also means it is connected to the internet, then there's a good chance that your info is at risk. What I would highly suggest is you switch to a more secure cold wallet, as TOR doesn't necessarily offer the protection that you think it does. So your best bet if you want to be as secure as possible is to buy a hardware wallet, that probably would cost around the ballpark of 100 to 1000 bucks and only ever use it for safekeeping of your bitcoins, because the moment you connect it to the internet in any way whatsoever it's already at risk, and is just like any other wallet out there.

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 07:36:08 AM

is it possible for any agency to use Bitcoin wallet transaction and track a persons IP to know their location?

If the agency dust attacks you and you get dusted without you noticing, you location can be determined in little while after. Cyber criminals use dust attacks to get personal information about the user from an anonymous address linked to an account that has been KYC verified. Cybercriminals get a lot of details from these attacks, Government agencies can use the same strategy.

Be on the look out always for dust attacks.

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Quote from: BitMaxz on March 29, 2023, 09:36:25 AM

No, the mobile version doesn't have TOR if you are looking for a bitcoin wallet with the TOR feature then the only Android wallet that I know is the Schildbach Bitcoin wallet that you can download on Play Store.

In addition to the already mentioned wallets, another mobile wallet that has TOR is Samourai. That wallet has some other features that can further contribute to privacy. However, it should be emphasized that TOR is not something that provides absolute privacy, because if a real player (three letters agency) targets you, it will not help you remain anonymous either.

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Quote from: LoyceV on March 31, 2023, 02:59:43 AM

Don't forget the massive surveillance coming from social media companies. Their spyware is included in many websites, and even if you don't use social media, they track you for advertising purposes.

Sure, but since they target anything and everything that breathes, I didn't think it was important to mention it specifically for the purposes in the OP. They could become a major threat in the future though. Can you imagine Facebook and Instagram with its spyware helping governments identify users who participate in crypto activities in whatever form they deem illegal? I can.

But that's something we will have to worry about far, far in the future. A future where we will have to use programmable money and take vaccines every 3 months. And we wont be able to leave our home or enter a restricted city district. Cameras everywhere recording our every movement, and armed police asking for ID, proof of address, and proof of vaccination... oh wait...

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 31, 2023, 05:00:19 AM

Thank you all that help me to understand these better and the best wallet to use, I have I can still drop question on this thread if I have any, instead of creating another thread?

You are welcome. If not related to this discussion, better to create another thread for it.

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Thank you all that help me to understand these better and the best wallet to use, I have I can still drop question on this thread if I have any, instead of creating another thread?

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Quote from: Pmalek on March 30, 2023, 08:53:29 AM

Who else can see and log your IP address?
The software and the servers you connect to.

Don't forget the massive surveillance coming from social media companies. Their spyware is included in many websites, and even if you don't use social media, they track you for advertising purposes.
It's a good start to block many of their domains from your hosts file, and you can use this list to do that.

Pmalek

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A lot of it depends on your ISP. It's safe to assume that the ISP can see everything you browse on the clearnet unless you are using a VPN, socks, or TOR. But if you mask your IP, they will then know (if they want to) that you are using a VPN or TOR. They won't know what you do with it though. Unless you are a wanted criminal or the government targets you specifically, this should be enough for them to stop looking. They would have to contact the VPN provider and request information about you to see your logs. Government personnel aren't going to do that randomly or just for fun.

Who else can see and log your IP address?
The software and the servers you connect to. You use Trust Wallet, and they can see it. But even if you use Electrum, some parties can still log your IP. Not Electrum as a brand, but the individuals who run the servers (nodes) you connect to. They can see your IP address, connected addresses, and wallet balance.

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Quote from: khaled0111 on March 29, 2023, 05:27:45 PM

As far as I know, the only entity that can link your IP to your wallet (addresses and transactions) is the server/node your wallet is connected to.

It also depends on the type of wallet we are using. If it is a wallet which are not recommended and close source like Trustwallet, and also if the wallet has privacy policy like Trustwallet, such wallet should not be used.

Wallet supposed to be noncustodial, there is no need for any privacy policy than a way to tell wallet user's how to avoid scam and wallet hack. According to the link BitMaxz posted above which I quoted disclosing of information to a third party, you can see how Trustwallet developers can handle your information to third party like an organization working with them and also the government.

Quote from: Husires on March 29, 2023, 07:59:40 PM

It is also difficult and rare to find a trusted VPN service.

Why looking for VPN when Tor is most decentralized and free to use, VPN are centralized.

Quote from: Husires on March 29, 2023, 07:59:40 PM

Yes, the IP address can be tracked either from block Explorers, or when you coincide with your wallet (the knot that connects you will be able to see all your addresses.

That is why it is not good to track a transaction from the blockchain explorer, you can track your transaction on your wallet, to know if it is confirmed or not yet confirmed. Even if you want to track your transaction on blockchain explorer, use Tor.

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It also depends on the amount of information that your government can collect, so a small mistake when logging in with your real address for a platform, e -mail, Facebook, PayPal, or even this forum may cost you to reveal your identity.
It is also difficult and rare to find a trusted VPN service. So if you are doing something wrong, or Bitcoin is banned in your country, it is better to move to another country.

Yes, the IP address can be tracked either from block Explorers, or when you coincide with your wallet (the knot that connects you will be able to see all your addresses.

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 07:36:08 AM

is it possible for any agency to use Bitcoin wallet transaction and track a persons IP to know their location?

From the transaction stored on the blockchain, no, it's not possible.
Your IP is not stored on the transaction data, it's not needed.
As far as I know, the only entity that can link your IP to your wallet (addresses and transactions) is the server/node your wallet is connected to. The gov agency has to contact the node operator to get that information.
As CT suggested above, for better privacy you should run your own node over tor.

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Quote from: BitMaxz on March 29, 2023, 09:36:25 AM

Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 08:57:41 AM

But since I don't have a laptop, can I be able to access the use of Tor and electrum wallet with my phone, is an Android phone.

No, the mobile version doesn't have TOR

Although the mobile version of Electrum doesn't have a built in Tor client, it is capable of connecting to a server through Tor. You will need a Tor client; I've used The Tor Projects official android app, Orbot. Once Orbot is installed and running the background service, you can set Electrum Mobile's proxy settings accordingly, and connect to a specific server by pasting in your onion address.

I've used it plenty of times to connect to my own servers which broadcast over Tor. It's not fast by any means, but it'll work. I'm not sure if it'll search for available Tor servers, I've never used it that way.

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 08:57:41 AM

But since I don't have a laptop, can I be able to access the use of Tor and electrum wallet with my phone, is an Android phone.

You can also try Blockstream Green, this wallet has tor built in, you just need to activate it in settings.

BitMaxz

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 08:57:41 AM

But since I don't have a laptop, can I be able to access the use of Tor and electrum wallet with my phone, is an Android phone.

No, the mobile version doesn't have TOR if you are looking for a bitcoin wallet with the TOR feature then the only Android wallet that I know is the Schildbach Bitcoin wallet that you can download on Play Store.

But still, you will need to set up a TOR before you can add an onion address on the wallet's trusted peers under privacy settings.

Adding this I think you can use Android Electrum but you need to two wallets the wallet you control and a watch-only wallet where you can generate a raw/hex unsigned transaction and sign it with your wallet that you control don't broadcast it instead copy the raw/hex transaction then install a tor browser then go to this link below its a blockchair tor URL then you can broadcast your raw/hex signed transaction there

Code:

http://blkchairbknpn73cfjhevhla7rkp4ed5gg2knctvv7it4lioy22defid.onion/broadcast

I found this TOR URL from Blockchair tweet here

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 08:57:41 AM

But since I don't have a laptop, can I be able to access the use of Tor and electrum wallet with my phone, is an Android phone.

Use Orbit

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.torproject.android

It is also just like Tor, but you can use it with any app on your Android device. But it makes connection slow.

Ediit:

Download the app, click on the setting icon that is beside 'full device VPN', enable the apps that you want to use Tor connection for. Go back and click on start which is displayed on big icon onion image.

It is better to bypass android and never use anything related to them or using open source OS. I read about Calyx OS recently, but I do not know how good it is.

Mrbluntzy

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Thank you all for the help sir Charles-Tim sir BitMaxz and sir PrivacyG.

But since I don't have a laptop, can I be able to access the use of Tor and electrum wallet with my phone, is an Android phone.

Charles-Tim

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 08:11:11 AM

I use trust wallet and that's is because it's the popular wallet that every body is using in my village, will it track my IP?

Trustwallet is a close source wallet. From the link BitMaxz posted up there, I saw this that is totally discouraging.

Quote

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our site, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

It is better to switch to a better wallet like Electrum for anonymity. To have full privacy, you may not have better option than to not rely on central servers but to have your own node.

https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tor.html
https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/74499/how-can-i-use-bitcoin-privately-with-the-electrum-wallet-and-tor

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Quote from: Mrbluntzy on March 29, 2023, 08:11:11 AM

I use trust wallet and that's is because it's the popular wallet that every body is using in my village, will it track my IP?

I don't know much about trust wallet how it works but according to their privacy policy users IP are recorded. Check this link below

- https://community.trustwallet.com/privacy

So if you don't want someone to track your wallet follow the other suggestion above like switching to other wallet that has tor feature.

PrivacyG

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If your country is not a Bitcoin friendly place. Then the best thing you can do right now is download Tails OS, flash it on a USB drive and use it as the main OS for Bitcoin operations. Use your main Operating System normally as you did so far, but use the removable USB drive with Tails on it for Bitcoin.

If you use Tor, make sure your country does not prohibit Tor usage. If you are concerned about this. Connect through a bridge. Your ISP will not see that you are using Tor this way.

Anyway. Back to your specific question. Unless you are EXTREMELY cautious, they will likely be able to make a link between your IP and some specific Bitcoin Addresses. This is particularly true if,

-- You are using Block Explorers to search your balance (this will instantly link your IP to the Addresses you search)
-- You are using Light Wallets or Custodial Wallets (including Trust Wallet!!!)
-- You are not using Coin Control cautiously

Like I said. Best bet for you is using Tails OS for Bitcoin operations. But keep in mind. Using Tor with Exchanges will get your account banned and probably your deposited funds frozen.

-
Regards,
PrivacyG

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