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GuideApril 19, 20266 min read

How to Check and Revoke Token Approvals to Protect Your Wallet

Every time you use a DEX or DeFi protocol, you grant token approvals. Many are unlimited — meaning the contract can spend ALL your tokens forever. Here's how to find and fix dangerous approvals.

What Are Token Approvals?

When you swap tokens on Uniswap, SushiSwap, PancakeSwap, or any DEX, you first "approve" the contract to spend your tokens. This is a standard ERC-20 function — but most dApps request unlimited approval by default.

This means even after your swap is done, that contract still has permission to spend ALL your tokens at any time. If the contract gets exploited, or if you approved a malicious contract by mistake, your entire balance can be drained.

Why Unlimited Approvals Are Dangerous

A hacked DeFi protocol can drain your approved tokens even months later
Phishing sites trick you into approving a malicious contract — one click and your wallet is compromised
Old approvals to abandoned protocols remain active forever unless revoked
Approval scams are the #1 method wallet drainers use in 2026

How to Check Your Approvals

Using CryptoGuard Approval Checker (Free)

  1. Go to cryptoguard.services/tools
  2. Click the "Approvals" tab
  3. Paste your wallet address
  4. Select your chain (Ethereum, BNB, Polygon, etc.)
  5. Click "Scan"

You'll see every contract that has approval to spend your tokens, whether it's unlimited, and how risky it is.

How to Revoke Approvals

Once you've identified risky approvals, you can revoke them:

  1. Using Etherscan — go to etherscan.io/tokenapprovalchecker, connect your wallet, and click "Revoke" on any approval
  2. Using Revoke.cash — connect your wallet and revoke directly
  3. Manually — call the approve() function on the token contract with amount = 0

Note: Revoking approvals costs gas. Prioritize revoking unlimited approvals on high-value tokens first.

Best Practices

Check your approvals monthly — use CryptoGuard's Approval Checker
Never approve unlimited amounts — set a specific amount when possible
Revoke approvals to protocols you no longer use
Be extra cautious with approvals on new or unaudited contracts
Use CryptoGuard's wallet scanner to check if a contract is flagged before approving
Consider using a separate wallet for DeFi interactions — keep your main holdings in a clean wallet

Check Your Approvals Now

Find out which contracts have access to your tokens. Free, no wallet connection required — just paste your address.

Check Approvals