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What a Monero Node Sees, and How to Hide Your IP

What a Monero node sees: your IP address and the transactions you send. Your keys stay on your phone. Hide your IP with Tor or your own node.

By , founder of Monero One

What can a Monero node see when your wallet connects to it? A remote node sees your IP address, the times your wallet syncs and the transactions you send through it. Your keys and your balance stay on your phone. This guide explains what a Monero node sees, then shows how to hide your IP with Tor or with a node of your own.

We make Monero One. We run some of the default nodes in the app, so we are one of the node operators this guide describes.

How We Checked

On October 17, 2026, we read the Monero project's FAQ, Moneropedia and docs, and the Tor Project's support pages. We read Orbot's store pages and its source code. For Monero One, we read the app source code at the versions in the stores: iOS 1.0.9 (10) and Android 1.0.9 (15). We quote the app's own labels.

What a Monero Node Can See

A phone wallet such as Monero One talks to a node. The node holds a copy of the blockchain and sends your transactions to the network. You can use a remote node that someone else runs, or a node of your own.

The getmonero.org FAQ says: "A remote node operator is able to see from what IP address a transaction comes from (even if cannot see the recipient nor the amount) and in some extreme cases, can make attacks able to reduce your privacy."

In plain terms, a remote node sees:

  • Your IP address. It sees the address of each connection and the time your wallet connects.
  • The transactions you send. Your wallet gives each new transaction to the node. Moneropedia says: "Node operators can link transactions to IP addresses."
  • The blocks your wallet asks for. Your wallet downloads blocks from its restore height on. That height hints at the date you created the wallet.

What Stays on Your Phone

Monero One scans the blockchain on your phone. The getmonero.org FAQ says that with a remote node, "your computer still needs to request a copy of all the outputs." The node sends the blocks, and your wallet finds your payments in them.

  • Your keys stay on your phone. Monero One's privacy policy says: "Your wallet keys and seed phrase are stored only on your device and are never transmitted to our servers."
  • Your balance stays on your phone. Your wallet adds up your payments on the device.
  • The recipient and the amount stay hidden. The FAQ line above says the operator "cannot see the recipient nor the amount."

Light Wallets Are Different

A light wallet hands its scan to a server. The getmonero.org FAQ says: "For a lightweight wallet, you give your view key to a node, who scans the blockchain and looks for incoming transactions to your account on your behalf. This node will know when you receive money." Monero One does the scan itself, so your view key stays on your phone.

How to Hide Your IP from a Monero Node with Tor

Tor sends your connection through a path of relays. The Tor Project says that with Tor, "servers in the Internet just see that they are being contacted by Tor nodes." So the node sees a Tor relay in place of your IP address. The getmonero.org FAQ says some dangers "can be mitigated by using remote nodes on the Tor or I2P networks or using a VPN."

Monero One gets its Tor connection from Orbot, a free Tor app from The Tor Project, or from another Tor proxy. Both apps have the same switch, Use Tor Proxy. Both apps also list onion nodes, which open up when the proxy is on.

On iPhone

Orbot for iPhone runs as a VPN. Its App Store page calls Orbot "the original free and open-source Tor-powered VPN for iOS and macOS." Its project page says the VPN "tunnels all your device network traffic through Tor."

  1. Install Orbot from the App Store and start it.
  2. Keep Orbot on whenever Monero One is open. In its default mode, Orbot sends the phone's connections through Tor, so a regular node sees a Tor relay in place of your IP address.
  3. To use an onion node, open Monero One. Go to Settings, then Sync Settings, then Remote Node.
  4. Turn on Use Tor Proxy. The app shows a warning: "Monero One has no built-in Tor. Without Orbot or another Tor app running, no node will connect." Tap Turn On.
  5. Look at the dot next to "Orbot / Local Tor." Green means the app reached the proxy, and red means it failed. To use another address, tap Add Proxy.
  6. Pick an onion node in the Nodes list. When you pick a node, the app turns off Auto Select.

The "Orbot / Local Tor" entry uses port 9050. In Orbot's iPhone source code, Tor picks its own SOCKS port each time it starts, so the dot can stay red. If it does, turn Use Tor Proxy off again, or no node will connect.

On iPhone, Use Tor Proxy covers the wallet's connection to its node. A few other requests connect directly, outside the proxy. These are price updates, a check that the selected node is online, the speed checks on the Remote Node screen and a node status list from GitHub. Orbot's VPN sends the phone's traffic through Tor, so keep Orbot on to cover these requests too.

On Android

  1. Install Orbot from Google Play and start it. Its Play listing says Orbot "uses Tor to encrypt your Internet traffic and then hides it by bouncing through a series of computers around the world."
  2. Open Monero One. Go to Settings, then Sync Settings, then Remote Node.
  3. Turn on Use Tor Proxy. The app asks first: "Monero One does not include Tor. Start Orbot or another Tor proxy before turning this on." Tap Turn On.
  4. Read the line under the proxy address. "Proxy available" means the app reached Orbot. If it says "Proxy unavailable. Start Orbot or check the proxy address.", start Orbot and tap Retry.
  5. Pick a node under Tor Nodes.

The default proxy address uses port 9050, Orbot's default SOCKS port. If Orbot uses another port, tap the edit button next to the address.

With the proxy on, the app says: "Wallet sync, node checks, and prices use this proxy. If it is unavailable, connections stay offline." The app also looks up node names through the proxy.

In both apps, View in Block Explorer opens a web page outside the app's proxy.

Run Your Own Monero Node

The Monero docs say: "Running your own monerod node lets you interact with the Monero network directly, without trusting a third-party remote node." Moneropedia is direct: "Run your own node!"

Plan for disk space. The getmonero.org FAQ says: "As of 2024, the full blockchain is around ~225GB. A pruned blockchain is about ~86GB." The monerod option prune-blockchain keeps the smaller copy. The Monero docs say pruning "saves 2/3 of disk space w/o degrading functionality."

To reach your node from your phone, set it up for remote wallets:

  • Restricted RPC. The restricted-rpc option limits the API "to view only commands and do not return privacy sensitive data."
  • A login. The rpc-login option sets a "username[:password] required to connect to API."
  • TLS. The Monero docs say to enable rpc-ssl "if you connect a remote wallet."
  • An onion address. The Monero guide to Tor and I2P says you can then connect "your desktop and mobile Monero wallets to your own trusted Monero node, in a secure and private way over Tor or I2P."

Then add your node in Monero One. Go to Settings, then Sync Settings, then Remote Node, and tap Add Node. Both apps have fields for a username and password, for nodes that need a login. For an onion address, turn on Use Tor Proxy first.

Your own node sees your IP address too, and you run it. Your internet provider can see the node. The getmonero.org FAQ says: "your ISP can see you are running a Monero node."

FAQ

Can a remote node steal my XMR?

No. Your keys stay on your phone, and only your keys can spend your XMR. Keep your seed offline. Type it only inside your wallet app, and never into a website, a chat or a support ticket.

Is a VPN enough to hide my IP from a node?

A VPN hides your IP from the node, and the VPN provider sees it in place of the node. The getmonero.org FAQ names a VPN, next to Tor and I2P, as a way to reduce the risk.

Does Monero One have built-in Tor?

No. Monero One works with Orbot or another Tor proxy on iPhone and Android. Turn on Use Tor Proxy in Settings, Sync Settings, Remote Node.

Which nodes does Monero One use?

On iPhone, the default node is node.monero.one, which we run. A new Android install starts on one of several public nodes that others run. Both apps also list our two onion nodes. You can pick any node in the list or add your own.

New to Monero One? The FAQ covers the basics. To compare wallets and their Tor support, see our guide to the best Monero wallets.

Sources

Read on October 17, 2026.