AutistMask/docs/README.md

# AutistMask User Guide

AutistMask is a minimal Ethereum wallet browser extension for Chrome and
Firefox. It manages recovery phrases and private keys, sends and receives ETH
and ERC-20 tokens, and connects to web3 sites. Nothing else.

## Why AutistMask Exists

The most popular browser-based EVM wallet has become bloated with swap UIs,
portfolio dashboards, analytics, tracking, and advertisements. It is no longer a
simple wallet. The common alternatives only support Chromium browsers, leaving
Firefox users without a usable option.

AutistMask exists because a wallet should be a wallet. You should be able to see
your balances, send tokens, receive tokens, and connect to sites. That is all a
wallet needs to do. If you want to swap tokens, use a DEX. If you want portfolio
analytics, use a portfolio tracker. The wallet is not the place for any of that.

## Hard Guidelines

### What AutistMask Will Always Do

- **Show full addresses and transaction hashes.** Never truncated, never
  abbreviated. Address poisoning attacks exploit truncated displays. If you see
  an address in AutistMask, you see the whole thing. The only exception is
  compact transaction list rows, where the full address is always one tap away.

- **Encrypt your recovery phrase and private keys at rest.** Your secrets are
  encrypted on disk using Argon2id key derivation and XSalsa20-Poly1305
  authenticated encryption (via libsodium). Your password is required whenever a
  secret has to be decrypted: signing a transaction, signing a message or typed
  data, exporting a private key, and deleting a wallet. Viewing balances and
  addresses never requires a password.

- **Let you choose your own RPC endpoint.** The default is a public Ethereum
  RPC, but you can point it at your own node or any provider you trust. No
  Infura or Alchemy lock-in.

- **Filter scam transactions by default.** Fake token transfers, dust poisoning,
  and look-alike addresses are filtered automatically. Every filter can be
  turned off individually if you prefer to see everything.

- **Work on both Chrome and Firefox.** Same codebase, same features, both
  browsers.

### What AutistMask Will Never Do

- **No analytics, telemetry, or tracking.** Zero data about your usage is
  collected or transmitted. No crash reports, no usage metrics, no user
  identifiers.

- **No advertisements or promotions.** No banners, no "try our new feature"
  popups, no partner integrations.

- **No swap UI.** Use Uniswap, 1inch, or whatever DEX you prefer in your
  browser. The wallet is not a trading terminal.

- **No NFT galleries or portfolio views.** This is a wallet, not a dashboard.

- **No third-party token list APIs.** Token balances come from the same block
  explorer you configure for transaction history, and the extension ships its
  own hardcoded list of top ERC-20 contract addresses for symbol-spoofing
  detection. Any token you want tracked across all your addresses, you add
  yourself by contract address.

- **No backend servers operated by the developer.** Nothing is sent to any
  server run by AutistMask. Every network destination is listed below.

## How It Works

AutistMask is a browser extension that runs entirely in your browser. It does
not have a backend server. It communicates with five external destinations:
three you configure yourself, and two fixed ones used for scam detection.

### External Services

**Ethereum JSON-RPC endpoint** (default: `ethereum-rpc.publicnode.com`;
`ethereum-sepolia-rpc.publicnode.com` on Sepolia)

This is how AutistMask talks to the Ethereum network. Every wallet needs an
Ethereum node to check balances, estimate gas, broadcast transactions, and
verify confirmations. The default is a free public RPC endpoint. You can change
this in Settings to any Ethereum JSON-RPC endpoint, including your own local
node.

When it is contacted: on every balance refresh (every 10 seconds while the popup
is open, every 60 seconds in the background), when you type an ENS name into the
Send screen, when a send is prepared and broadcast, while a pending transaction
is polled for its receipt, and for the reverse ENS lookups used to label
addresses (cached for 12 hours).

What gets sent: standard Ethereum JSON-RPC requests (balance queries,
transaction broadcasts, gas estimates, ENS lookups, contract-code checks). Your
addresses are necessarily visible to the RPC provider when querying balances.

**Blockscout API** (default: `eth.blockscout.com/api/v2`;
`eth-sepolia.blockscout.com/api/v2` on Sepolia)

Used to fetch token balances and transaction history. Blockscout is an
open-source blockchain explorer. AutistMask queries it for your ERC-20 token
balances (including the holder counts used for spam filtering) and your recent
transactions and token transfers. You can change this in Settings to a
self-hosted Blockscout instance.

When it is contacted: on every balance refresh, and whenever a screen showing
transaction history is opened.

What gets sent: your Ethereum addresses (to look up balances and transactions).

**CoinDesk CADLI price API** (`data-api.coindesk.com`)

Used to fetch current USD prices for ETH and the top 25 tokens. Prices are
cached for 5 minutes. No API key is required. This endpoint is not
user-configurable, and it is not contacted at all while you are on a testnet,
where no USD values are shown.

When it is contacted: while the popup is open, at most once every 5 minutes.

What gets sent: token symbol names (e.g. "ETH", "USDC"). No addresses, no
balances, no identifying information. As with any request, CoinDesk sees your IP
address.

**Phishing domain blocklist** (`raw.githubusercontent.com`)

A community-maintained list of phishing domains, used to warn you when a site
that asks to connect, or to have a transaction or signature approved, is a known
scam. A copy is bundled into the extension at build time, so the protection
works before any network request happens. At runtime the extension fetches the
live list to pick up newly added domains, keeping only the entries not already
in the bundled copy (persisted locally if under 256 KiB). This endpoint is not
user-configurable.

When it is contacted: when the background script starts, if the last fetch was
more than 24 hours ago, and every 24 hours after that. The time of the last
fetch is remembered across browser and background restarts, so restarting does
not cause a re-download. If a fetch fails, or the list is too large to keep, the
extension waits an hour before trying again outside that 24-hour schedule rather
than retrying on every restart. It is a plain download of a public file —
nothing about you is sent, but the host sees your IP address. If the fetch
fails, the bundled copy is still used.

**Etherscan address labels** (`etherscan.io`; `sepolia.etherscan.io` on Sepolia)

When you review a send, AutistMask fetches the recipient's public Etherscan
address page and looks for a "Fake_Phishing"/"Phish/Hack" label or a scam
warning, and shows a red warning if it finds one. This is a plain page fetch
with no API key, made by your browser. It is best-effort: if it fails, it is
silently ignored. This endpoint is not user-configurable.

When it is contacted: each time you reach the send confirmation screen.

What gets sent: the recipient address you are about to send to, and your IP
address. Your own addresses are not sent.

Etherscan links shown elsewhere in the UI (on addresses, transactions, and token
contracts) are ordinary links. They contact nothing until you click them.

### What Stays Local

- Your recovery phrases and private keys (encrypted with your password)
- Your wallet configuration (which wallets, which addresses, which tokens)
- Your site permissions (which sites you have allowed or denied)
- Your spam filter settings and detected fraud contract list

None of this data leaves your browser.

### Encryption

When you create or import a wallet, you choose a password. This password is used
to encrypt your recovery phrase (or private key) on disk. The encryption uses
Argon2id for key derivation (memory-hard, resistant to GPU brute-force) and
XSalsa20-Poly1305 for authenticated encryption (tamper-proof).

Your password is **not** part of your recovery phrase. Anyone with your 12 or 24
word recovery phrase can restore your wallet on any device without your
password. The password only protects the copy stored in this browser. If you
lose your recovery phrase, your password cannot help you recover it.

Your password is requested whenever an encrypted secret must be decrypted: when
you send a transaction, when a site asks you to sign a message or typed data,
when you export an address's private key, and when you delete a wallet. Viewing
balances, receiving funds, and browsing transaction history never require your
password.

## Installation

### Chrome

1. Download or build the extension (the `dist/chrome/` directory).
2. Navigate to `chrome://extensions/`.
3. Enable "Developer mode" (toggle in the top right).
4. Click "Load unpacked" and select the `dist/chrome/` directory.

### Firefox

1. Download or build the extension (the `dist/firefox/` directory).
2. Navigate to `about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox`.
3. Click "Load Temporary Add-on".
4. Select `dist/firefox/manifest.json`.

## Getting Started

### Creating a New Wallet

1. Click the AutistMask icon in your browser toolbar.
2. Click "Add wallet" (on first use), or open Settings and click "+ Add wallet".
3. On the "From Phrase" tab, click the die button to generate a random 12-word
   recovery phrase.
4. **Write down the recovery phrase and store it safely.** Anyone with these
   words can take your funds. If you lose them, your wallet is gone. AutistMask
   cannot recover them for you.
5. Choose a password and confirm it. This encrypts your recovery phrase on this
   device.
6. Click "Import".

### Importing an Existing Wallet

The Add Wallet screen has three tabs:

**From Phrase:** Paste your existing 12 or 24 word recovery phrase instead of
generating a new one. AutistMask uses the standard BIP-44 Ethereum derivation
path (`m/44'/60'/0'/0`), which is what other wallets use by default, so your
addresses will match and your phrase stays portable in both directions.

**From Key:** Paste a single private key. This creates a single-address wallet.

**From xprv:** Paste an extended private key. This imports the HD wallet and
scans for used addresses.

All three tabs ask for the same password fields, and the "Import" button
finishes the job.

### Adding More Addresses

HD wallets (created from a recovery phrase or an xprv) can derive multiple
addresses. On the home screen, click the "+" button next to a wallet name to add
the next address. These are deterministic -- the same recovery phrase will
always produce the same sequence of addresses.

### Adding ERC-20 Tokens

Tokens you hold show up automatically only if they are in the extension's
bundled list of well-known tokens or have at least 1,000 holders; everything
else is treated as spam and hidden. To track a token explicitly (which also
shows it at zero balance), add it by contract address:

1. Go to an address detail view (click `[info]` on any address).
2. Click "+ Token".
3. Enter the token's contract address (find this on Etherscan or the token's
   website), or pick from the list of common tokens.
4. Click "Add".

The token balance will appear on the address detail screen and on the home
screen. Tokens can also be added from Settings, under "Tracked Tokens".

## Sending

1. Click "Send" from the home screen or an address detail view.
2. Select what to send (ETH, or any ERC-20 token with a balance on this address
   that survives the spam filters).
3. Enter the recipient address or ENS name (e.g. `vitalik.eth`).
4. Enter the amount.
5. Click "Review" to see the confirmation screen.

The confirmation screen shows:

- **Transaction type** (native ETH transfer or ERC-20 token transfer)
- **Token contract address** with Etherscan link (for ERC-20 tokens)
- **From and To addresses** with identicons and Etherscan links
- **Amount** with USD estimate
- **Your current balance** with USD estimate
- **Estimated network fee** in ETH with USD estimate
- **Warnings** if the recipient is a contract, a burn address, one of your own
  addresses, on the bundled scam-address list, or labelled as a phisher on
  Etherscan

After reviewing, enter your password and click "Sign & Send". The transaction
will be broadcast to the network and you will see a waiting screen with a timer.
Once confirmed (or after 60 seconds), you will see either a success or error
screen with the transaction hash and an Etherscan link.

### Sending a Specific Token

You can also send from a token-specific view: on the address detail screen,
click any token balance row. This opens a focused view showing only that token's
transactions. Clicking "Send" from here pre-selects and locks the token so you
cannot accidentally switch to a different one.

## Receiving

1. Click "Receive" from the home screen or an address detail view.
2. Share the QR code or copy the address using the "Copy address" button.

When receiving ERC-20 tokens, make sure the sender is sending on the network you
are using. AutistMask supports Ethereum mainnet and the Sepolia testnet. Tokens
sent on other networks (Polygon, Arbitrum, BSC, etc.) to the same address will
not appear and may be permanently lost.

## Connecting to Web3 Sites

AutistMask injects a standard `window.ethereum` provider (EIP-1193) into web
pages. When a site requests access to your wallet:

1. A popup appears showing the site's hostname and the address that will be
   shared.
2. Click "Allow" to connect or "Deny" to reject.
3. Optionally check "Remember my choice for this site" to skip the prompt next
   time.

When a connected site requests a transaction, a separate approval popup appears
showing the transaction details (from, to, value, data). You must enter your
password and click "Confirm" to authorize it. Message and typed-data signature
requests work the same way, with a "Sign" button, and also require your
password.

If the requesting site's domain is on the phishing blocklist, all three approval
screens show a red phishing warning before you decide.

You can manage site permissions in Settings. Allowed and denied sites can be
individually removed to reset their permissions.

## Scam Protection

AutistMask includes several defenses against common Ethereum scams, all enabled
by default:

**Known token symbol verification.** AutistMask ships a list of roughly 500
legitimate ERC-20 tokens with their contract addresses. If a transaction or
balance claims to involve a known symbol (like "ETH" or "USDT") but comes from
an unrecognized contract, it is identified as a spoof and hidden. In your
transaction history this is the "Hide fake tokens impersonating a known symbol"
setting, which you can switch off; doing so also stops new entries being added
to the fraud contract blocklist below, since detecting a spoof is what fills it.
The send token list always applies the check. Your balances apply it too, with
one exception: a token claiming the symbol "ETH" is not filtered there, so a
fake "ETH" token can still show up in your balance list even though it is hidden
from your transaction history and from the send token list.

**Low-holder token filtering.** Tokens with fewer than 1,000 holders are hidden
from transaction history and the send token list, and are left out of your
balances unless they are on the bundled known-token list or you added them
yourself. Legitimate tokens have substantial holder counts; scam tokens deployed
for address poisoning typically have zero.

**Fraud contract blocklist.** When AutistMask detects a fraudulent transfer, it
adds the contract address to a local blocklist. Future transactions from that
contract are hidden. This list persists across sessions.

**Dust transaction filtering.** Tiny ETH transfers (below 100,000 gwei / 0.0001
ETH by default) are hidden. Scammers send dust from look-alike addresses to
plant them in your transaction history. The threshold is configurable in
Settings.

**Scam address list.** A list of known fraud, drainer, and phishing addresses is
shipped with the extension. Sending to one of them raises a warning on the
confirmation screen. It contains only addresses involved in fraud -- it is not a
sanctions list.

**Phishing domain warnings.** Sites asking to connect or to have something
approved are checked against the phishing domain blocklist described under
External Services, and flagged with a red banner if they match.

The first four filters can be individually disabled in Settings if you prefer to
see everything unfiltered.

## Settings

Click the gear icon on the home screen to access settings:

- **Wallets**: Your wallets, and "+ Add wallet".
- **Tracked Tokens**: The ERC-20 tokens tracked across all addresses, and "+ Add
  token".
- **Display**: Toggle whether tracked tokens with zero balance are shown, switch
  timestamps to UTC, and choose the theme (System, Light, or Dark).
- **Network**: Switch between Ethereum Mainnet and Sepolia Testnet. Switching
  resets the RPC and Blockscout endpoints to that network's defaults.
- **Ethereum RPC**: Change the Ethereum node endpoint. Default is a public RPC.
  You can use your own node for maximum privacy.
- **Blockscout API**: Change the Blockscout instance used for token balances and
  transaction history. You can use a self-hosted instance.
- **Token Spam Protection**: Toggle individual scam filters and set the dust
  transaction threshold.
- **Allowed Sites / Denied Sites**: View and manage web3 site permissions.
- **About**: License, author, version, release date, and a link to the commit
  this build came from.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Can I use AutistMask alongside another wallet?**

Yes. AutistMask uses the standard `m/44'/60'/0'/0` derivation path, so importing
the same recovery phrase gives you the same addresses as any other wallet using
that path. Two wallet extensions can be installed side by side, though only one
can be the active `window.ethereum` provider at a time.

**Can I use AutistMask with a hardware wallet?**

Not yet. Hardware wallet support may be added in the future.

**Does AutistMask support networks other than Ethereum mainnet?**

Ethereum mainnet and the Sepolia testnet, selectable in Settings. No other
networks are supported today. On Sepolia, USD values are not shown, because
testnet tokens have no market value.

**Where is my data stored?**

In your browser's extension local storage. Your recovery phrases and private
keys are encrypted. Your addresses, balances, and settings are stored
unencrypted (so you can view them without entering a password). Nothing is sent
to any server operated by AutistMask.

**What happens if I uninstall the extension?**

Your data is deleted. Make sure you have your recovery phrase backed up before
uninstalling. With your recovery phrase, you can restore your wallet in
AutistMask or any other wallet that uses the standard derivation path.

**What happens if a transaction times out?**

If AutistMask does not see a confirmation within 60 seconds, it shows an error
screen. This does not mean the transaction failed -- it may still confirm. The
error screen includes an Etherscan link so you can check the transaction status
directly. Network congestion or low gas prices can delay confirmation beyond 60
seconds.

## License

GPL-3.0. See [LICENSE](../LICENSE).

## Author

[@sneak](https://sneak.berlin)