Can I watch an Ethereum address belonging to someone else?

You can add an Ethereum address you do not control to your personal Watch List. The feature follows public address activity and does not require ownership of the watched address. You still need your own activated explorer account to save the entry and maintain its notifications. Watching an address grants no control over its assets.

Does the Watch List require an API key for email alerts?

Watch List email setup uses your explorer account and saved address settings without an API key. API access is a separate account feature for programmatic requests. Maintaining address notifications through the account dashboard therefore does not require creating an API integration or writing software.

Are newsletter subscriptions and Watch List alerts the same setting?

Newsletter subscriptions and Watch List notifications use separate controls. Account Settings contains the newsletter subscription choice, while the Watch List contains notification preferences for saved addresses. A newsletter subscription does not establish which transactions you monitor. Manage the address's alert choices when changing its transaction notifications.

What happens to Watch List alerts if I delete my explorer account?

Deleting your explorer account ends email notifications for addresses on its Watch List. Completed deletion removes your Watch List and other saved account data; you also lose access to personal tools. It does not remove the addresses or their transaction histories from Ethereum. Keep any address information you need before proceeding with account deletion.

Can an alert's email timestamp establish when Ethereum recorded a transaction?

An email timestamp does not establish the transaction's blockchain time. The block timestamp belongs to the recorded Ethereum activity, while the message timestamp concerns email handling. The explorer can display transaction timestamps in UTC or local time. Differences in time-zone display and mail delivery should not be interpreted as different blockchain events.

Does adding an address to the Watch List revoke its token approvals?

Adding an address to the Watch List does not revoke its token approvals. A Watch List entry changes your monitoring preferences, while an approval belongs to a token contract's spending permissions. Changing those permissions requires a separate authorized blockchain action. Receiving an alert also does not initiate that action.

Where can I inspect activity if I cannot add another watched address?

You can inspect the address's public explorer page even when you cannot add another Watch List entry. Its transaction and token-transfer records provide a manual view of activity. Public lookup and an account's saved-address allowance are separate functions. Viewing that history does not create a new email notification subscription.

How can a token-transfer alert appear without my address initiating a transaction?

A token contract can emit a transfer record involving your address while another address submits the enclosing transaction. An authorized spender can transfer tokens through an allowance, and a malicious token can fabricate misleading transfer events. The transaction sender and token sender describe different roles. An alert alone does not establish that someone used your private key.

Etherscan

Etherscan Watch List settings control email alerts for saved Ethereum addresses

Etherscan's Watch List lets signed-in users save Ethereum addresses and choose email notifications for incoming or outgoing transactions. Each entry has its own notification choices and optional description. Keeping those settings aligned with the activity you need to follow makes the list easier to maintain over time.

Bottom line: Saved notification settings define an address's alert scope, while mailbox access and delivery determine whether those alerts reach you.

Saved addresses, descriptions and email choices serve different purposes

A saved address identifies the activity you follow, its optional description supplies personal context and notification settings determine the email scope. A recognizable description helps distinguish entries, while an address remains the precise identifier. Saving an entry and enabling every available notification are separate choices, so a list can contain addresses with different monitoring needs.

The explorer account holds these personal preferences separately from the keys controlling blockchain assets. Registration establishes access to account features; email verification activates the account. Public transaction history remains readable independently of those preferences. Your account password protects saved tools, while a wallet's private key authorizes blockchain operations. Watch List setup uses the public address you want to follow.

Should I enable incoming alerts only or both directions in the Watch List?

Enable incoming alerts alone to focus on incoming activity, or enable both directions when outgoing activity also matters to your monitoring. Compare those choices using the same watched address and token-transfer selection. The narrower choice excludes outgoing notifications; enabling both directions broadens the activity eligible for email.

Stage	Watch List action	Access or information needed
Account access	Sign in and open Watch List from the account dashboard.	An activated explorer account.
Address entry	Enter the Ethereum address and an optional description.	The exact address and room within the account's address allowance.
Notification selection	Choose transaction directions and available token-transfer types, then save.	The activity you intend to follow.

The saved entry appearing in the list provides the first observable confirmation of setup. Its recorded notification choices establish which scope you selected. Incoming and outgoing are relative to the watched address. The saved-address allowance can change; reaching it prevents you from adding another entry. Neither a saved entry nor an enabled setting proves delivery of an email.

Incoming and outgoing refer to the watched address

Direction describes the watched address's role in the relevant activity, so the same movement can be outgoing for one address and incoming for another. Incoming and outgoing notification preferences apply to each address in the Watch List. Maintain those preferences entry by entry, especially when saved addresses serve different purposes.

Monitoring one direction

Incoming activity

Incoming notifications focus on activity reaching the watched address. That setting fits monitoring receipts, subject to the selected activity types. It does not establish the identity or legitimacy of whoever initiated the activity.

Outgoing activity

Outgoing notifications focus on activity leaving the watched address within the selected scope. For token activity, the token sender and the sender of the enclosing Ethereum transaction can have different roles.

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Transactions involving several watched addresses

A transaction involving more than one watched address still has its own transaction hash. Individual Watch List entries express your interest in those addresses; their involvement does not create separate Ethereum transactions.

Token-transfer types refine the notification scope

Include the token-transfer types relevant to the address's activity, using the choices available in its Watch List settings. ETH is Ethereum's native asset; ERC-20 is a standard interface for fungible tokens managed by smart contracts. The address's Token Transfers (ERC-20) tab displays these fungible transfers separately from its regular transaction list.

Transaction direction alone does not describe the full alert configuration. The transfer-type selection also matters when matching an observed event to an expected email. Avoid treating a general transaction setting as a promise to notify you about every contract operation. Token approvals concern spending permission, while contract verification concerns published contract code; neither is interchangeable with a token transfer.

Transaction records explain what an alert refers to

An alert identifies activity worth reviewing, while the transaction record supplies the execution status and transfer details needed to interpret it. A notification's arrival does not establish that an expected payment completed correctly. The affected address, asset and recipient still need to match the activity you intended to follow. This is particularly relevant when an address receives several kinds of tokens.

For token activity, transfer events are contract logs reporting a token movement. Malicious contracts can emit misleading events, so a transfer record alone does not prove tokens moved. The enclosing transaction can involve a contract rather than name the eventual token recipient as its destination. An unfamiliar token appearing in a notification also carries no assurance about its authenticity or economic value.

Descriptions preserve the purpose of recurring monitoring

A useful description explains why an address remains on the list, giving later reviews more context than the address alone supplies. Keep the wording tied to your monitoring purpose and avoid assigning an owner you have not established. A personal description is an aid to recognition, not proof of who controls an address. The exact address remains the reference when descriptions resemble one another.

Changes in purpose justify reconsidering notification scope. An entry kept for occasional reference need not have the same email preferences as an address whose receipts matter. Review the description and settings together when that distinction changes.

Account email maintenance keeps the alert destination usable

The account email is the detail to maintain when your mailbox changes because it supplies the destination for transaction notifications. Account Settings handles this change separately from per-address Watch List preferences. Confirm the request with your password, follow the link sent to the replacement email address and sign in again to complete the update. An inaccessible replacement mailbox prevents you from completing that confirmation.

Mailbox access also affects the privacy of your monitoring. Notification emails place details of watched activity outside the explorer account, where mailbox rules, shared access or forwarding can expose them. Keep private keys and recovery phrases out of address descriptions and support messages. A public address identifies what you monitor; wallet credentials are unnecessary for this feature.

Unexpected alerts can come from lookalike-address activity

Unexpected email volume can reflect unwanted activity involving a watched address. Address poisoning transactions can trigger Watch List email alerts.

Address poisoning places deceptive activity in transaction history to encourage someone to copy a lookalike address. Attackers can create addresses resembling the beginning and ending of a familiar address, or use misleading token names. The activity can generate a genuine explorer notification even though its purpose is deceptive. Familiar-looking text in the message therefore needs interpretation alongside the complete address and the token's contract identity.

A receipt-focused setting can still encounter this problem because outsiders can send activity toward a public address. More incoming mail does not necessarily indicate more meaningful receipts. Zero-value transfers can also create token transfer records without moving a positive token amount.

Compare full addresses before using a counterparty from an unexpected alert. Explorer display filters and email notification settings serve different purposes; do not assume a hidden transfer also suppresses email.

Missing emails require scope and mailbox checks

Missing alerts call for comparing recorded activity with the saved notification scope and the mailbox's handling of incoming messages. Silence does not establish that no blockchain activity occurred. Relevant details include the exact watched address, selected direction and transfer type. Spam filtering, mail rules or an inaccessible account email can also explain why a message is absent from the expected inbox.

Existing transaction records provide a reference for the activity you expected to hear about. A transaction hash identifies that record when explaining a missing notification to support. Include the watched address and relevant settings without sharing account passwords or wallet secrets. Notifications for activity outside the selected direction or transfer type are not expected. If recorded activity matches the saved scope and mailbox checks do not explain the absence, the missing alert remains a notification or delivery issue for support.

Still wondering about Etherscan?

Can I watch an Ethereum address belonging to someone else?: You can add an Ethereum address you do not control to your personal Watch List. The feature follows public address activity and does not require ownership of the watched address. You still need your own activated explorer account to save the entry and maintain its notifications. Watching an address grants no control over its assets.
Does the Watch List require an API key for email alerts?: Watch List email setup uses your explorer account and saved address settings without an API key. API access is a separate account feature for programmatic requests. Maintaining address notifications through the account dashboard therefore does not require creating an API integration or writing software.
Are newsletter subscriptions and Watch List alerts the same setting?: Newsletter subscriptions and Watch List notifications use separate controls. Account Settings contains the newsletter subscription choice, while the Watch List contains notification preferences for saved addresses. A newsletter subscription does not establish which transactions you monitor. Manage the address's alert choices when changing its transaction notifications.
What happens to Watch List alerts if I delete my explorer account?: Deleting your explorer account ends email notifications for addresses on its Watch List. Completed deletion removes your Watch List and other saved account data; you also lose access to personal tools. It does not remove the addresses or their transaction histories from Ethereum. Keep any address information you need before proceeding with account deletion.
Can an alert's email timestamp establish when Ethereum recorded a transaction?: An email timestamp does not establish the transaction's blockchain time. The block timestamp belongs to the recorded Ethereum activity, while the message timestamp concerns email handling. The explorer can display transaction timestamps in UTC or local time. Differences in time-zone display and mail delivery should not be interpreted as different blockchain events.
Does adding an address to the Watch List revoke its token approvals?: Adding an address to the Watch List does not revoke its token approvals. A Watch List entry changes your monitoring preferences, while an approval belongs to a token contract's spending permissions. Changing those permissions requires a separate authorized blockchain action. Receiving an alert also does not initiate that action.
Where can I inspect activity if I cannot add another watched address?: You can inspect the address's public explorer page even when you cannot add another Watch List entry. Its transaction and token-transfer records provide a manual view of activity. Public lookup and an account's saved-address allowance are separate functions. Viewing that history does not create a new email notification subscription.
How can a token-transfer alert appear without my address initiating a transaction?: A token contract can emit a transfer record involving your address while another address submits the enclosing transaction. An authorized spender can transfer tokens through an allowance, and a malicious token can fabricate misleading transfer events. The transaction sender and token sender describe different roles. An alert alone does not establish that someone used your private key.

Last updated · Oct. 7, 2026