How to copy your MetaMask address, and four checks before you paste it
2026-10-09
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The exchange withdrawal form is open on your laptop. It wants a destination address, and your MetaMask wallet is on your phone.
How to copy a MetaMask address is one tap once you know where to look.
The part worth slowing down for is the paste, because a wallet address that is wrong by one character is still a valid-looking address.
1. Where the copy button is
▲ The address is on one device and the form is on the other
MetaMask moves its menus around between versions, so look for these landmarks rather than exact positions.
- Browser extension: open MetaMask and look at the top, under or beside the account name. The short address with a copy icon is there. Clicking it copies the full address.
- Mobile app: tap the account name or the shortened address under it at the top of the main screen. You can also tap Receive, which shows the full address with a Copy button and a QR code.
- Account menu: both versions list your accounts. Each one has its own address, so make sure the selected account is the one you mean to fund.
The address starts with 0x and is 42 characters long. The app shows it shortened in the middle, like 0x12ab…cd34, but the copy button always copies all of it.
2. One address, many networks
People often search for an "EVM address", a "BEP20 address" or an "Ethereum address" in MetaMask, expecting different strings.
For an ordinary MetaMask account they are the same 0x address. Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum and other EVM networks all use it.
▲ One string, but the sender still picks a network
The address is shared, but the network you pick on the sending side is not.
If the exchange asks you to choose ERC20 or BEP20, that choice decides where the coins land.
Pick the network that MetaMask is set up to show, or the funds can arrive somewhere you are not looking.
Newer versions can also hold non-EVM accounts, such as Solana or Bitcoin, with addresses in a completely different format. If the address you copied does not start with 0x, you copied one of those.
3. Four checks before you paste
▲ Thirty seconds here is cheaper than a support ticket
- Copy from the wallet, not from history. Scammers send tiny transfers from lookalike addresses so they appear in your transaction list. Always copy from your own account screen.
- Compare more than the ends. Lookalike addresses are built to match the first and last few characters. Check a stretch in the middle too.
Why checking the first and last four characters is not enough explains how they are made.
- Paste and look again. Clipboard-swapping malware replaces a copied address with another one. Read the pasted address against MetaMask before you confirm.
- Send a small test first. For a large amount, a small transfer that you can see arrive is the most reliable check there is.
4. When the wallet is on your phone and the form is on the laptop
This is the awkward case. Typing 42 characters by hand is where mistakes start, and there is no shared clipboard between most phones and PCs.
You can email the address to yourself, or open the exchange on your phone instead.
ZAGO.TO is another option that needs no account: paste the address at zago.to on the phone and you get a 4-digit code. Type the code on the laptop and the address appears, ready to copy.
It holds the text for 1 minute if nobody opens it, and 1 minute more after it is opened. Then it is gone, and the code cannot be opened again.
Our server can read what is held there, and there is no in-browser encryption yet.
A public address is meant to be shared, but never put a seed phrase or private key through it, or through any other service.
More ways to hand over an address without retyping it are in How to give someone a wallet address without retyping it.
Quick questions
Is it safe to share my MetaMask address? Yes, it is public by design. Anyone with it can see the balance and history, so some people keep a separate account for receiving.
Why does my address look different on another app? Some apps show it in mixed upper and lower case. That is a checksum format of the same address, not a different one.
Can I copy the address without unlocking MetaMask? No. You need to unlock the wallet first.