How to Revoke Long-Term Token Approvals from Your Wallet
Token approvals that have never been revoked are like giving someone a key to your house – and that key never expires. To clean them up, use a dedicated tool like Revoke.cash to set the approved amount to 0, and pay an on-chain gas fee.
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Approving tokens is a normal part of DeFi interactions. The problem is that approvals don't expire. A DApp you used once three years ago and never opened again may still have unlimited permission to spend a certain token from your wallet. If that DApp gets hacked, or its contract address is exploited by a phishing site, your funds are at risk.
Prerequisites
You know your wallet's password or can connect a hardware wallet to sign transactions.
The wallet you plan to use for revoking approvals contains enough native tokens on the corresponding blockchain (e.g., ETH on Ethereum, BNB on BSC) to cover gas fees.
The tool you use is publicly trusted. Do not search for "token approval revoker" and click on unknown links.
Step 1: Choose a tool and connect your wallet
The most commonly used tool for revoking approvals is Revoke.cash, which supports over 100 chains including Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism. Many wallets (such as imToken, TokenPocket, Bybit Wallet) have a built-in entry point for it.
What to do:
Open the official Revoke.cash website in your browser, or find "Authorization Management" / "Revoke" in your wallet's toolbox.
Click "Connect Wallet" and select your usual wallet (e.g., MetaMask, Trust Wallet).
After connecting, use the dropdown at the top to choose the chain you want to inspect (e.g., Ethereum).
Completion standard: The page fully loads and displays a list of all token approvals for your wallet on that chain.
Step 2: Review the approval list and identify risky entries
After connecting, you will see a list where each row represents one token approval. The information typically includes:
Token: The token that has been approved (e.g., USDC).
Spender: The address that has permission to move your tokens (e.g., a Uniswap contract).
Approved Amount: How much the spender is allowed to use. If it says "Unlimited," that means the spender can access your entire balance of that token.
What to do:
First, look at the "Spender." Do you recognize it? Addresses you don't know or that look suspicious should be prioritized.
Next, check the "Approved Amount." Unlimited approvals should be prioritized.
Sort by time, starting with the most recent, to help quickly spot phishing approvals you may have signed recently.
Completion standard: You have identified a batch of approvals to revoke (e.g., for DApps you no longer use, unknown contracts, or approvals set to "Unlimited").
Step 3: Execute the revoke
On the right side of the approval you want to remove, click the "Revoke" button.
Your wallet will pop up a transaction request. Carefully verify the transaction details – confirm that you are setting the approval amount to 0.
Click confirm, pay the gas fee, and wait for the transaction to be confirmed on-chain.
If you might use the same DApp again in the future, you don't have to revoke completely; you can click the pencil icon next to the approved amount, change "Unlimited" to a specific number you're comfortable with, and reduce the risk.
Completion standard: After the transaction is confirmed on-chain, refresh the Revoke.cash page. The approval record should disappear from the list or show an amount of 0.
Step 4: Repeat across chains
Approvals on different EVM chains are independent. An approval on Ethereum has nothing to do with an approval on BSC. If you have approvals to clean up on multiple chains, switch networks and repeat Steps 1–3.
Completion standard: The approval lists on all major asset chains (e.g., Ethereum, Arbitrum, BSC, Polygon) are cleaned up.
Common reason for failure
Assuming that disconnecting your wallet equals revoking approvals
This is the most common misunderstanding. Clicking "Disconnect" in a DApp interface only stops that website from seeing your wallet address; it does not revoke the on-chain permissions already granted to contracts. Approvals are recorded on the blockchain and must be changed by initiating an on-chain transaction through a tool like Revoke.cash.
Risk reminders
Revoking is an on-chain transaction that costs gas: It isn't free. Gas fees can range from a few dollars to tens of dollars depending on how congested the chain is. Before you start cleaning up, do the math – if the approved token's value is low and revoking costs more in gas than the token itself, you might consider leaving it for now.
Unlimited approval risk is per token: If you gave unlimited approval for DAI, your USDC is still safe. One approval only applies to one token.
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How to confirm the cleanup is complete
After cleaning up, that approval record should no longer appear on Revoke.cash, or it should show an amount of 0. You can also double-check using the "Token Approvals" tool on the chain's block explorer (like Etherscan) to confirm that the approval has been revoked.
