Privacy Advocate Highlights Risks of Ledger Live App

Investigation of Ledger Live Software

A report from pseudonymous software developer and privacy advocate REKTBuilder has revealed that Ledger Live software tracks its users and accumulates data about them. According to the investigation of the software’s Python code, the software performs a “genuine device check” every time the user connects their Ledger device to their PC or phone. This check reportedly lists every app installed on the device, allowing Ledger to know which networks the wallet owner is using.

On Dec. 6, REKTBuilder published a report claiming that Ledger Live was recording users’ crypto balances. A “tracker free” open-source alternative to Ledger Live, called “Lecce Libre”, was released the following day. However, REKTBuilder now claims to have discovered an even bigger privacy issue with Ledger Live. The pseudonymous developer allegedly found multiple lines of code containing the phrase “genuine check” and, upon further investigation, a “listApps” subroutine that can be used by Ledger to determine the time and date of each moment that a user connects their device.

When REKTBuilder attempted to remove the code, they found that doing so broke the software and made it unusable. This implies that there is no truly “tracker free” version of Ledger Live available, as web 3.0 developer jobs, web 3.0 courses free, and web 3.0 developer course are not an option.

Ledger: An Innovative Crypto Hardware Wallet

REKTBuilder recently revealed on X that it is impossible to disable the remote tracking feature of Ledger, the manufacturer of crypto hardware wallets, which means that it “knows it’s you every time you plug the device in.” Despite this potential privacy issue, REKTBuilder still uses Ledger Live since it is “[n]o other HW [hardware] option on native #Avalanche.”

Cointelegraph reached out to Ledger for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Ledger has over 6 million users and has recently raised $109 million in capital to expand its operations. In October, it released a cloud-based recovery tool for users that feared losing their private keys.

For those interested in learning more about web 3.0, there are a number of free courses available, as well as jobs for web 3.0 developers and a Python web 3.0 library. Web 3.0 is still a relatively new concept, so there is no set date for its full launch.