How to Revoke Token Approvals in MetaMask and Trust Wallet

Table of Contents

Introduction

If you connect your MetaMask or Trust Wallet to any DeFi platform, NFT marketplace, or dApp (decentralized application), you have probably clicked the “Approve” button at least once. Most people do not know that this approval is a permanent on-chain permission. It stays active until you manually revoke it, even if you never open that dApp again.

Security Alert: If you do not revoke these approvals, you can become a victim of a scam. In that case, all the funds in your wallet could be stolen. According to one report, this type of scam has caused $1.05 billion in losses. Read more about how to Protect Your Digital Assets.

In this article, we will show you the complete step-by-step process How to Revoke Token Approvals in both MetaMask and Trust Wallet, from beginner to advanced level. We will also share some “secret” tips that most other guides do not mention.

What Is Token Approval?

When you swap tokens on a DEX (such as Uniswap or PancakeSwap) or list an NFT on an NFT marketplace, the smart contract asks for your permission to access a specific token from your wallet. This permission is called token approval or allowance.

On a technical level, ERC-20 tokens use the approve() function. For NFTs (ERC-721 and ERC-1155), the setApprovalForAll() function is used. With this permission, the smart contract can access your entire NFT collection, not just a single NFT.

One important thing is that some dApps ask for unlimited approvals. This means they can use your entire token balance, and they do not need to ask for permission every time they spend your tokens. Many people allow this to save gas fees, but it also reduces the security of their wallet.

Difference Between Disconnecting and Revoking

Many people think that if they disconnect their MetaMask or Trust Wallet from a website, their tokens can no longer be moved. But that is not true.

When you disconnect your MetaMask or Trust Wallet from a website, the website can no longer see your wallet or check how many tokens you have. However, the token approval you gave earlier still remains active.

When you revoke the approval, the website loses the permission to move your tokens. If you only disconnect your wallet and that website gets hacked in the future, your tokens could still be stolen, even if you disconnected your wallet two years ago. Always be aware of Crypto Phishing Scams & Fake Support Accounts.

How to Revoke Token Approvals in MetaMask

MetaMask has its own official Portfolio dashboard where you can view and revoke token approvals directly. At the moment, this feature is available on Ethereum Mainnet, Polygon, and BNB Chain.

Open portfolio.metamask.io in your browser.
Connect your MetaMask wallet.
Go to the Spending Caps (or Approvals) tab.
Find the contract and click Revoke.
Confirm the transaction in your extension and pay the gas fee.

How to Revoke Token Approvals in Trust Wallet

In 2026, Trust Wallet added its own built-in Approvals feature to both the mobile app and the browser extension. This means you no longer need to visit any third-party website. You can revoke approvals directly inside the app or extension.

One good thing about Trust Wallet is that when you approve a blockchain or smart contract, it saves that approval in its records. You can easily see which blockchain or smart contract has permission to access your tokens and how much access you have given. Below is the step-by-step process to revoke token approvals in Trust Wallet.

Open the Trust Wallet app.
Navigate to the Approvals section (found in Settings or Discover).
View all active dApp permissions.
Tap the approval you want to remove, then select Revoke.
Confirm the network fee to finalize the removal.

Advanced / Secret Section

At EthGlobal 2024 hackathon, a project called Revoke.delegate was created. In this project, a user can delegate specific permissions (only for functions like approve()) to a smart contract. In case of an exploit, it can automatically revoke the affected approvals — without the user needing to manually revoke them. However, this project is still being developed and will be made available for everyone in the future. check out our comparison of Binance Web3 Wallet vs Trust Wallet

Conclusion

Using DeFi and Web3 requires giving token approvals, but leaving those permissions open forever puts your crypto assets at risk. If you take just 5 minutes to revoke unused smart contract approvals, you can avoid scams in the future. Always stay alert, check your wallet permissions every month, and make blockchain security your first priority.