Quick Answer
See which contracts can spend your tokens — and revoke risky ones
Every time you interact with a DeFi protocol — swapping on Uniswap, lending on Aave, bridging via Stargate — you sign an approval transaction that grants that protocol permission to move your tokens. Without this permission, the smart contract cannot pull tokens from your wallet.
Most apps request an unlimited allowance (the maximum possible value) to avoid requiring a new approval on each transaction. This means the approved contract retains permanent access to your token balance until you explicitly revoke it. Old approvals accumulate silently in your wallet — many users have dozens they've forgotten about.
If a protocol you've approved gets exploited, the attacker inherits your approval and can drain your tokens in a single transaction — even if you exited the protocol months ago. The 2023–2024 wave of wallet drainer attacks relied heavily on abusing forgotten approvals.
The spender contract can withdraw any amount of your tokens at any time. If that contract is malicious, exploited, or gets compromised in the future, your entire balance is at risk. Revoke immediately.
The spender can only move up to the approved amount. Lower risk than unlimited, but still grants access to an unknown third party. Review and revoke if you no longer use the protocol.
Approval is to a widely-audited, non-custodial DEX router. These contracts don't hold your funds — they only pull tokens when you initiate a swap. Generally safe to keep, but revoke when not in active use.