# Protect Your NFT Metadata

**Published by:** [Origins Research](https://paragraph.com/@origins-research/)
**Published on:** 2023-02-11
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@origins-research/protect-your-nft-metadata

## Content

https://twitter.com/RamiWritesDespite web3’s fascination with immutability, Non Fungible Token (NFT) metadata is subject to change across an overwhelming majority of collections. Following the recent boom in interest around Bitcoin Ordinals and inscriptions, there has been renewed interest in how NFT data storage works. Metadata is most often stored on the Interplanetary File System (IPFS), but even there it can be deleted if the data is not used or paid for. Let’s demystify metadata and the actions you can take to protect your NFTs.Article OutlineFrozen NFT MetadataAn Incomplete SolutionExceptionsClosing Remarks: Back Up Your MetadataFrozen NFT MetadataA single kilobyte of storage in an Ethereum block costs about 0.025 ETH ($41 USD today). As a result, the artwork, description, and everything that we refer to as NFT metadata tends to be stored off-chain in most cases. Regardless of where the metadata is, freezing it simply makes the contract unable to look anywhere else for metadata in the future. Since you can’t add files to a folder on IPFS, changing metadata requires uploading a new folder to IPFS and linking the new folder with the smart contract. To find NFTs with frozen metadata on Opensea, look for a snowflake icon above the artwork and will say Metadata: Frozen in the NFT description. Yuga Labs froze BAYC metadata on June 18th 2021, about two months after they had launched. When they did, they made the corners of the artwork rounded (to help combat fakes).An Incomplete SolutionSource: BAYC #9203Freezing metadata means it cannot be updated, ever. But it can be lost. File storage costs money, and on IPFS storage is actually rented. IPFS charges hosting fees for data on the network, if a project team stops paying those fees the metadata may be deleted. It may seem that freezing metadata solves a problem, but that solution is incomplete. ExceptionsNot all metadata is frozen, and not all of it should be. For example, the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection has unfrozen metadata. This makes sense, as new Mutants can come to exist when a serum is taken by a Bored Ape, which would require a metadata change to reflect the new Mutants artwork. Still-growing collections and ones that want NFT metadata to be dynamic should not freeze their metadata. Collectors will have to take backups periodically. Metadata expiration is not a concern for projects with on-chain artwork. In those cases, metadata is placed on-chain and then linked to the collection, so there isn’t an increased cost for those who mint, but to the project team initially instead. Cyberbrokers famously spent 91 ETH ($250,000 USD at the time) on putting their artwork on-chain ahead of launch. Closing Remarks: Back Up Your NFTsYou don’t need to be a project creator to take steps to ensure your NFT’s safety. If metadata is on IPFS, it is public and can be easily copied and having a copy can allow you to restore your NFTs. If a project team ever stops paying its IPFS bills, you could re-upload the metadata to the same location and take over the costs of paying for it. ClubNFT facilitates this and is free to use. Backing up your NFTs is great, but if metadata is unfrozen it could change at any time and invalidate your backup. On the other hand, freezing metadata is great but still requires trust in the team to pay storage bills. These two are both sides of the same coin, and only together can make your NFTs as close to immutable as possible. At Origins we leverage data-driven decision-making, educational resources, and proprietary analytics to remain ahead of the curve with respect to blockchain tech, specifically NFTs. To find out more, please visit our website or Twitter. To purchase a pass, please visit our Opensea page.

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