What to screenshot before you hit send on a crypto swap

05 September 2026

Take a screenshot of every visible piece of information on the swap page the moment you have entered the destination address and the amount, but before you click the final confirmation button. That single image is your best evidence if something goes wrong. The reason is simple: the moment you send, the swap site may change what it shows, the page may reload, or the transaction may fail in a way that leaves you with nothing but a blockchain hash and a blank support ticket.

Why before you click, not after. After you hit send, the site often redirects to a status page, or the browser tab crashes, or the confirmation dialog disappears. If the swap fails and the site claims you never entered a certain address or amount, your after-the-fact screenshot only shows a status screen that the site controls. The before-click screenshot captures the exact terms you agreed to.

What exactly to capture. Include the entire browser viewport if possible. The key elements are:

• The destination address you pasted (or the QR code you scanned). Make sure the full string is visible, not truncated with ellipses.
• The amount you are swapping, in both the source and destination tokens.
• Any fee estimate or network cost shown.
• The swap rate or expected return.
• The name or logo of the site itself, in the URL bar or page header.
• The timestamp from your computer's clock, if the site shows one, or a browser tab with a visible time.

If the site shows a transaction ID or order number before you confirm, capture that too. Some sites generate a temporary ID before the blockchain transaction exists. That ID is your only link to the swap before it hits the chain.

What to screenshot if the swap uses a contract address. If the swap requires you to approve a token contract, screenshot the approval prompt separately. The approval screen often lists the contract address and the amount you are authorizing. That is evidence that the site asked for exactly that permission, not a different one.

What to screenshot if the swap fails. If the transaction fails - whether it rejects at the wallet, times out on the blockchain, or the site shows an error after you sent - screenshot the error message immediately. Do not close the error. Do not refresh. Capture the error text, the URL, and any reference number. Then take a second screenshot of your wallet showing the failed transaction hash. Support teams need both: what the site reported and what the blockchain recorded.

What to screenshot after the swap succeeds. Even a successful swap deserves one screenshot: the final confirmation page showing the transaction hash and the amounts received. This is your proof that the site acknowledged the completion. Save that image alongside the before-click screenshot. A pair of images - one before, one after - is stronger than either alone.

Why this matters for swapping crypto safely. The hub page "Swapping crypto safely" covers the overall process, but the screenshot habit is the cheapest insurance you can buy. A before-click screenshot costs you nothing and takes two seconds. Without it, you are relying on the swap site's database and customer support to reconstruct what happened. With it, you have a timestamped record made before the site could change its story.

What to do if you did not take a screenshot. If you already sent funds and something is wrong, take whatever screenshots you can now. Capture the transaction hash from your wallet, the swap site's current status page for that order (if it still loads), and any email or confirmation the site sent. Then go to the swap site's support channel and open a ticket with those images. Do not expect help if you have no record of the address you sent to. Support teams see hundreds of "I sent to the wrong address" claims each week. Screenshots are the difference between a resolved issue and a shrugged apology.

One more thing. After you take the screenshot, save it to a folder you can find later. Do not rely on your phone's camera roll alone. Name the file with the date, the swap site name, and the token pair. That habit turns a blurry photo into a usable record months later, when you need to reconcile a tax return or trace a lost transaction.

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