Freeze authority is the Solana account that has permission to freeze individual token accounts. A frozen token account cannot send or receive tokens — effectively making those tokens non-transferable until the account is thawed.

An active freeze authority means the token creator can prevent any wallet from transacting with the token. This is a significant risk for investors — their tokens could be frozen and made inaccessible at any time.

Most legitimate token projects revoke freeze authority to prove they cannot interfere with token transfers. Revoking freeze authority is a positive security signal displayed by analytics platforms like Birdeye and DexScreener.