Watch-only wallet
Wallet mode where only a public address is added, without the private key. Lets the user see balance, transaction history, NFTs, and jettons but cannot send anything.
Aliases: watch only, view only wallet, monitoring wallet
Watch-only wallet is any TON address added to a wallet app without its private key. The app shows balances, history, NFTs, and jettons; the “send” button is absent because there is nothing to sign with.
Why use it
A few practical cases:
- Monitoring cold storage. The main seed lives on a metal plate in a safe, and the address is added to Tonkeeper as watch-only — the user can check the balance from the phone without touching the safe.
- Tracking other wallets. Add a foundation wallet, a whale, or an exchange hot wallet and follow flows in real time.
- Accounting / tax. A bookkeeper or auditor can see the complete history without ever holding the key.
- Multi-device. Sign with a Ledger at home, but watch the balance from work by adding the address as watch-only in a second Tonkeeper.
Adding to TON
In Tonkeeper: ”+” → “Watch wallet” → paste the address. MyTonWallet has the same flow. The address can be in any TON format — raw (0:abc…), bounceable (EQ…), non-bounceable (UQ…), or a .ton domain.
What is visible
Visible:
- Current balance in TON and every jetton on that address.
- Full transaction history (anyone can see this on Tonscan or Tonviewer — the chain is public).
- NFTs across collections.
- Staking positions and Liquid Staking Tokens.
Not visible:
- Active TON Connect sessions — these live in the real wallet, watch-only has no concept of them.
- Sibling addresses unless explicitly added.
Security
Watch-only is safe by construction: even if the app is compromised, there is no key to steal. The mild risk is targeted phishing — an attacker who sees a high balance can pick a victim. Importing publicly known addresses (an exchange hot wallet) is fine; importing addresses that can deanonymise the user is better kept local.