What Is an MT4 Investor Password? Read-Only Access

The investor password is the second password on every MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 account: it logs in to the same account as the master password but in read-only mode. Whoever holds it can watch the account in full detail and change nothing about it. That asymmetry is why it became the standard credential for third-party verification.

How it works

MetaTrader accounts ship with two credentials against the same login number. The master password grants trading rights. The investor password grants observation.

Investor password CAN          Investor password CANNOT
- see balance and equity       - open a position
- see open positions           - modify or close a position
- see closed trade history     - place or delete pending orders
- see margin and free margin   - withdraw or transfer funds
- attach charts and indicators - change account settings

A terminal logged in with the investor password shows the New Order button greyed out. The restriction is enforced by the broker's trade server, not by the client, so it cannot be worked around by patching the terminal.

You set it yourself, and you can change it at any time. In MT4: Tools → Options → Server, then Change next to the investor password. In MT5: Tools → Options → Account → Change Password, selecting the investor option. Changing it revokes access for everyone holding the old one, immediately.

Why it matters

It solves a problem that has no other clean solution: proving your results to a stranger without giving that stranger the ability to trade your money. Before read-only credentials, the alternatives were screenshots and broker statements, both of which are files the trader produces.

It also has a limit worth stating plainly. An investor password proves the trades are real; it does not prove they are yours, because the password can be forwarded to anyone. That is why a full verified track record needs a second, separate check of ownership.

What the data shows

The credential covers most of the market we see: of the 10,000+ accounts connected to ShowMyTrades (August 2026), the overwhelming majority are MetaTrader, spread over 703 distinct broker servers. Every one of those MetaTrader accounts can be verified with a password its owner sets, without changing anything about how the account trades.

Almost nobody does. Only 65 accounts carry Track Record Verified, out of 10,000+ published pages. The friction is not technical; it is that the step is optional, and an unverified page still displays numbers.

Where you see it on ShowMyTrades

The Investor Password (Optional) field is in the account settings. Fill it in and the Track Record badge in the account page header turns green; clear it and the badge turns grey on the same save.

It also appears earlier, when you add an account: the MetaTrader 4 Direct Connection and MetaTrader 5 Direct Connection options in the connection picker sync trades using the investor password alone, with nothing installed in your terminal. The Expert Advisor option updates far more frequently, and it is the only one that can also report the state of the machine running the strategy in the Terminal & Open Charts module — a password-only connection never touches your computer, so it has nothing to report about it. That trade-off is the one thing to weigh before choosing: less setup, or a fuller page. If the strategy runs unattended on a VPS, the Expert Advisor is what makes that visible.

Common misunderstandings

• "Giving out the investor password is risky." It is read-only and enforced server-side. The real consideration is privacy, not security: whoever holds it sees your balance and every trade you take, live.
• "It reveals my strategy." It reveals your fills, not your logic. Anyone can already see the trades on a public page you publish yourself.
• "Changing the master password changes the investor one." It does not. They are set separately, and platforms holding an unchanged investor password keep working.
• "Some brokers do not offer it." MT4 and MT5 both support it as standard. What varies is whether the broker lets you set it in the terminal or only through their client area.
• "A read-only login means the data is verified." Only if a platform is actually holding that connection open and publishing what it sees. A password in a private message proves nothing to a third party.

The full walkthrough, including the ownership check that the password cannot provide: how to verify your trading account.

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