Secret material used with public transaction data to recognize incoming outputs and recover their amounts. It does not alone authorize spending.
Public and private view keys
A standard receiving address includes the public view key. A sender uses it when constructing a payment. Sharing a receiving address does not disclose the private view key.
The private view key lets a wallet derive information needed to recognize incoming outputs and recover their amounts. It is sensitive financial information even though it does not alone authorize spending.
References: Standard address construction · Monero source: crypto/crypto.cpp · Monero source: wallet/wallet2.cpp
Watching an offline wallet
In an offline-signing setup, an online device can hold a view-only wallet while an offline device retains spending secrets. The online wallet scans for payments and helps prepare transactions for the signer.
The signer checks and signs the intended payment. Signed transaction data can then return to the online side for relay. This separation limits where the private spend key is used, but it does not make the online device's observations private.
References: Feather: offline transaction signing
Incoming payments and spent-status tracking
A view key does not automatically provide the key images needed to recognize every spend of the wallet's outputs. A view-only wallet may need key-image synchronization with a corresponding spending wallet to track spent status correctly.
It also cannot reconstruct a complete list of outgoing recipient addresses merely from seeing blockchain data. Wallet records and payment proofs contain information that is not a public address field in each transaction.
References: Monero source: wallet/wallet2.cpp · Moneropedia: viewkey
Giving someone viewing access
An accountant or monitoring service given viewing material can learn information beyond a single invoice. Scope the disclosure to the actual need, and distinguish a payment proof from access to a wallet's incoming history.
Creating a fresh view-only wallet does not cancel copies of the same private view key already shared. A view key is not a revocable website password. Avoid sending it to a node operator merely to establish a normal remote-node connection.
References: Monero source: wallet/wallet2.cpp · Remote node documentation
Related glossary terms
Practical guides
- Monero Offline Wallets: Cupcake, Cold Storage and Signing
- Connect Your Monero Wallet to a Remote Node
Technical baseline: v0.18.5.4. Reviewed 2026-11-08 UTC.