How to protect your transactions with Transaction Shield

Transaction Shield is a new subscription from MetaMask that pairs Transaction Protection with priority support. Transaction Protection covers up to $10,000 in assets while you navigate and transact in web3.

Subscribing to Transaction Shield is $9.99 monthly or $99 yearly, and includes:

• Transaction Protection of up to $10,000 per month for eligible interactions
• Clear coverage details before you sign any transaction
• One subscription for all supported EVM accounts in your wallet
• Coverage of up to 100 transactions per month
• 24/7 priority access to expert support

Want to get started? Try it free for 14 days. Early access is now available on MetaMask Extension.

How does Transaction Shield work?

Transaction Protection covers up to $10,000 on MetaMask Extension for a range of supported interactions on popular networks. Subscribers receive clear in-app alerts when a transaction is covered.

Each time you transact in web3, MetaMask automatically evaluates if the transaction seems safe or not, based on a variety of factors such as smart contracts and assets involved. Based on this evaluation, the transaction will be shown as ‘Covered’ or ‘Not Covered’ by Transaction Shield.

Security checks

MetaMask’s security stack conducts automated checks and simulations each time you transact. When a transaction passes our security checks, it’s deemed safe, and when it doesn’t, it’s deemed unsafe. All MetaMask users receive clear, in-app alerts when a transaction is deemed unsafe.

Transaction Shield subscribers benefit from an additional layer of protection – if an eligible transaction passes our security checks, Transaction Protection will reimburse up to $10,000 in asset loss.

For more information on transaction eligibility, see "What is covered?".

If a transaction is covered, but results in asset loss, Transaction Shield will reimburse up to $10,000 of assets involved in the transaction. To start the reimbursement process, simply submit a claim and provide the relevant transaction information outlined below.

If a transaction is not covered by Transaction Shield, the rationale for why it is not covered will be shared on the confirmation screen. If you choose to complete the transaction anyway, you do so at your own risk, and without Transaction Protection.

What is covered?

To be eligible for Transaction Protection, a transaction must be:

• On MetaMask Extension
• On a supported network
• A supported transaction type
• On an account with an active subscription

Supported networks include:

• Ethereum, Linea, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Base, Polygon, BSC, and Sei.

Supported transaction types include:

• Dapp interactions, DeFi trading, NFT mints and sales, airdrop claims, and signatures.

What accounts are covered?

Transaction Shield covers all supported EVM accounts present in the user’s wallet at the time of transacting, including imported accounts.

If your transaction meets all of the above requirements, you will see the ‘Covered' status on the confirmation screen.

If your transaction is covered, and results in unintended loss from a malicious actor, your transaction is eligible for a reimbursement claim.

I think my transaction should be eligible for Transaction Shield, but I don’t see if the transaction is covered or not.

To start, make sure you are using an account covered by Transaction Shield, and that your transaction is a supported type. On the transaction’s confirmation page, you should see a symbol for Transaction Shield and whether or not the transaction is covered.

If you still don't see the coverage status, contact MetaMask Support on the homepage of this site.

What is not covered?

When a transaction is not covered by Transaction Shield, you can view more details on why it is not covered by clicking the information icon.

There are two primary reasons a transaction is not covered: the transaction is deemed as high risk and potentially malicious by MetaMask, or the transaction does not meet Transaction Shield criteria and is thus ineligible.

High risk transactions

Transaction Shield does not cover transactions deemed malicious by MetaMask. These transactions will be clearly identified as risky and potentially unsafe before you confirm them.

If you decide to proceed with the transaction, you do so at your own risk.

Ineligible transactions

To be eligible for Transaction Shield, a transaction must be on a supported network and a supported transaction type.

Supported networks include:

• Ethereum, Linea, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Base, Polygon, BSC, and Sei.

Supported transaction types include:

• Dapp interactions, DeFi transactions, NFT mints and sales, airdrop claims, and signatures.

Examples

The following is a non-exhaustive list of asset loss that is not covered by Transaction Shield:

• You have your Secret Recovery Phrases (seed phrases) or private keys compromised.
  • Non-exhaustive examples include: phishing, sharing keys, losing keys, improperly storing keys and/or malware.
• You have sustained speculative and economic loss.
  • Non-exhaustive examples include: your transaction and MetaMask behaved as expected, but you have sustained a financial loss due to the transaction which you have undertaken. This could include interacting with a honeypot or tokens that dropped in value.
• You incur a loss due to a hacked protocol.
  • E.g. where the protocol or smart contract has a vulnerability and funds are stolen through an exploit outside MetaMask’s control.

To be eligible for Transaction Protection, the transaction or signature must be on MetaMask and under an active subscription. The following is a non-exhaustive list of asset loss that is not covered by Transaction Shield due to eligibility issues:

• You sustain a loss from a wallet other than MetaMask. Only transactions or signatures cryptographically signed within MetaMask are covered.
• You incur a loss due to your MetaMask wallet being tampered with in any way not specifically endorsed by MetaMask.
  • Non-exhaustive examples include: you make changes to the code or functionality of MetaMask either directly or indirectly.
• You incur a loss from the signature that was submitted on-chain after 5 mins of the signature.
• You incur a loss whose proximate cause occurred outside an active Transaction Shield subscription.
  • Non-exhaustive examples include: you have entered into a transaction prior to having an active subscription and the losses that occur as a result of that transaction occur during the subscription period. Examples may include granting permissions to token contracts prior to a subscription, which are later exploited during a subscription.

Finally, MetaMask will use sole discretion to determine whether your use of MetaMask services is in violation of applicable laws or regulations. You can view the full list of what’s covered or not here.

Start your subscription

To get started with Transaction Shield, open MetaMask Extension, and open the account you want to use to pay for your subscription. Your subscription will cover all accounts in your MetaMask Extension, including imported accounts.

Click on the Transaction Shield banner, or navigate to your notifications and click on Transaction Shield. You can also navigate directly to the Transaction Shield page from Settings.

You can choose monthly or yearly plans, and cancel at any time. You can sign-up using crypto stablecoins on Ethereum mainnet (mUSD, USDC, USDT), as well as your credit card or debit card.

When you’re ready, click ‘Start free trial’ to start the free trial, or start your subscription if you’ve already used your free trial.

Crypto payments

If you choose to pay with stablecoins, you will be prompted to provide an approval for the subscription.

If you sign up for the monthly subscription, you will sign a transaction approving payments for 12 months. This transaction requires a minimum stablecoin balance equivalent to 12 months (i.e., $9.99 × 12 = $119.88) to pay via crypto.This is simply so you only have to sign one transaction; you will be charged one month at a time. At any time you can cancel, and you will not be billed for any future months.

The free trial also includes gas sponsorship, so you won’t have to pay a network fee.

Submit a claim

Reimbursement claims must be submitted within 21 days of the transaction’s confirmation to be eligible.

To submit a claim, sign in to your MetaMask Extension. Go to ‘Settings’, and click on ‘Transaction Shield’.

From your plan page, click ‘Submit a claim’.

You will need to enter the following information to submit your claim:

• Your email address for communication
• An account address for reimbursement
• Incident details
  • The impacted account address
  • The transaction hash
  • Network
  • A description of the case
  • Optional images with additional information

The claim form automatically checks your transaction history in MetaMask’s internal records. You will not be able to submit claims where you were shown the ‘Not Covered’ status for your transaction or signature.

Once you submit a claim, you can expect an initial response from MetaMask within 48 business hours.

Note: Each user is allowed only 3 active claims.

How are claims evaluated?

Once you’ve submitted your claim, MetaMask will start the evaluation process by reviewing your submission and investigating the claim. The claim should meet the conditions mentioned in our terms of use here.

We may ask you to provide certain information as required by the law, such as identifying information or KYC, to facilitate reimbursement.

If your case qualifies for Transaction Shield, MetaMask will reimburse you 100% of the value you lost in mUSD, based on the market value at the time of loss. MetaMask reserves the right to determine the final loss amount, and the reimbursement amount cannot exceed $10,000 USD, including gas costs.

If your case does not qualify for reimbursement, MetaMask will send you an explanation for our decision.

Other FAQs

What accounts are covered by Transaction Shield?

All EVM accounts in your MetaMask Extension wallet (associated with one SRP) are included in the subscription. For example, if you signed up to Transaction Shield while on Account 1, all accounts in your wallet will be covered.

Imported accounts and wallets are also covered. If you ever reinstall MetaMask Extension, make sure to log in with your main wallet, and then import any additional accounts and wallets to be covered by Transaction Shield.

How do I access priority support?

From your MetaMask Extension, click the menu in the top right corner, and then click ‘Support’. The support site will automatically detect you are a priority user.

Is my subscription automatically renewed?

Yes, your subscription will be automatically renewed, but you can cancel at any time. For crypto payments, you'll be asked to confirm your approval again after 12 months.

Can I cancel my subscription or free trial at any time?

Yes. To cancel your membership:

• Sign in to your MetaMask Extension.
• Navigate to the "Settings" page.
• Click on "MetaMask Shield" to view your membership details.
• Select "Cancel Membership" and confirm.

Note: On cancelling your membership, you will retain access to the subscription perks until the end of your current billing cycle. Refunds aren’t available for subscriptions.

If you’re using the free trial, you will need to cancel before the end of the trial to not be billed.

Are there any limits?

Transaction Protection is limited to $10,000/month across eligible transactions, for up to 100 transactions per month.

Who is eligible to subscribe to Transaction Shield?

Transaction Shield is not available to parties based in Afghanistan, Belarus, Burundi, Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Iraq, Iran, Liberia, Mali, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, the following regions of Ukraine: Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk Regions, Venezuela, Yemen or any parties who are subject to sanctions by the United States Government.