How to check and revoke token approvals on Solana

On Solana, an approval (a "delegate") lets another address move up to a set amount of one token out of your wallet, without asking you again. Apps use them for orders and subscriptions. Drainers trick people into signing one, then wait. An approval stays until it's used up or you revoke it.

What an open approval means

Each token account in your wallet can have one delegate with an allowance. If a site you no longer use, or an address you don't recognise, still has an allowance on your USDC, it can take that USDC at any time, up to the amount left, without another signature from you.

How to find them

Most wallets don't list approvals in one place. SealGuard reads every token account in your wallet, Token-2022 included, and lists each live approval with the address, the token and how much it can still move. Approvals that are already used up are shown as low risk.

How to revoke them

1. Connect your wallet. You can paste any address to look at it, but fixing needs the wallet connected.
2. Tick the approvals you want to take back.
3. Press Fix selected and approve the transaction in your wallet. Each revoke is a standard Token Program instruction, and your wallet shows it before you sign.

Revoking is free apart from the Solana network fee. On the command line, spl-token revoke <TOKEN_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS> does the same for one account.

Approvals you can't revoke

Some Token-2022 tokens have a permanent delegate set by the token's issuer. It can move or burn that token from any wallet, and no holder can revoke it. Regulated stablecoins such as PYUSD use this for compliance. SealGuard flags it so you know. For an unknown token with no market price, it offers to burn the token and close its account. For tokens with a market price it doesn't: sell or swap them instead if you'd rather not hold them.

When revoking isn't enough

• A leaked seed phrase: whoever has it controls the wallet. Move what you can to a brand-new wallet.
• A signed transfer: most Solana thefts are one signature on a transfer, not an approval. Read your wallet's simulation before every signature, and keep large amounts on a hardware wallet.

Know when a new one appears

With the guard (US$49 a year), SealGuard checks your wallet every hour and sends a Telegram message when something changes for the worse, such as a new approval, with a link that opens the fix.

Questions

Will revoking break an app I use?

An app that relies on the approval, such as an open limit order, may stop working until you approve it again from that app.

Is it safe to connect my wallet?

Connecting shares only your public address. SealGuard never asks for a seed phrase, can't send anything without your signature, and its code is public.

What else does the scan find?

Phishing airdrops, stake and nonce authorities, whether the wallet account itself has been taken over, and empty accounts holding SOL you can take back. See how to close empty token accounts.