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pavlenex committed May 28, 2021
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23 changes: 11 additions & 12 deletions guide/payments/privacy.md
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Expand Up @@ -36,37 +36,37 @@ This page should inform about what information is made public when sending or re

It’s a common misconception that Bitcoin payments are anonymous. Instead, they can be referred to as pseudonymous, this means that who owns a freshly generated addresses is not public knowledge. Unless your ownership is revealed, whether directly by yourself or indirectly by some third-party you are able to remain anonymous.

Transactions, their signatures, and addresses added to the Bitcoin blockchain remain public forever. This means that looking up any address or transaction is trivial, as demonstrated by going back to the very first block mined on [January 3, 2009](https://blockstream.info/tx/4a5e1e4baab89f3a32518a88c31bc87f618f76673e2cc77ab2127b7afdeda33b).
Transactions, their signatures, and addresses added to the Bitcoin blockchain remain public forever. This means that looking up any address or transaction is trivial, as demonstrated by going back to the very first block mined on [January 3, 2009](https://blockstream.info/tx/4a5e1e4baab89f3a32518a88c31bc87f618f76673e2cc77ab2127b7afdeda33b).

While all transactions are public, there is no personal identification about the address owners stored on the blockchain itself.

> Each Bitcoin transaction contains at least one input and at least one output. This means that once a single address is known, there is a trail to follow the bitcoin.
>
>
> <cite>As documented by <a href="https://docs.wasabiwallet.io/FAQ/FAQ-GeneralBitcoinPrivacy.html#how-is-bitcoin-bad-in-terms-of-privacy">Wasabi Wallet</a></cite>
The key to keeping your transactions private is to prevent others from determining which addresses you own[^3]. Since Satoshi let others know that they had mined the first block, which contained a single transaction, one can deduce that both the address that received the block reward and the sender address in the transaction belongs to Satoshi. This illustrates the permanence of associations between addresses and identity. While it's possible to break assumptions of ownership going forward, the challenge is to recover privacy once an association is made public. That being said, in this case the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto” has yet to be associated with any personal identity.
The key to keeping your transactions private is to prevent others from determining which addresses you own[^2]. Since Satoshi let others know that they had mined the first block, which contained a single transaction, one can deduce that both the address that received the block reward and the sender address in the transaction belongs to Satoshi. This illustrates the permanence of associations between addresses and identity. While it's possible to break assumptions of ownership going forward, the challenge is to recover privacy once an association is made public. That being said, in this case the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto” has yet to be associated with any personal identity.

<!-- TODO: add graphic and heading that demonstrate points of compromise when transacting with bitcoin -->

## Methods to preserve privacy

There are many ways your identity might get connected to your addresses[^1],so keeping Bitcoin payments private takes diligent work but is not impossible. Let’s explore some practices that help preserve privacy of your users' Bitcoin payments.
There are many ways your identity might get connected to your addresses[^1],so keeping Bitcoin payments private takes diligent work but is not impossible. Let’s explore some practices that help preserve privacy of your users' Bitcoin payments.

<!-- talk about the problem as you are talking about the solution -->

### Generate a new address for each payment

A new address should be generated by the wallet application any time the user wants to receive bitcoin. This is achieved by using [HD Wallets]({{ "/guide/glossary/#hd-wallet" | relative_url }}), a standard in modern Bitcoin applications that can generate and manage an infinite number of addresses without revealing their common root. This allows each incoming transaction to use a new address that is unconnected to any other in the wallet, making it difficult to associate with the owner.

Address re-use degrades the privacy of both the [sending](/guide/payments/send/) and [receiving](/guide/payments/receive) parties. Re-using an address on the receivers side means that anyone with whom that address is shared can see previous payments and the amount of bitcoin controlled by that address.
Address re-use degrades the privacy of both the [sending](/guide/payments/send/) and [receiving](/guide/payments/receive) parties. Re-using an address on the receivers side means that anyone with whom that address is shared can see previous payments and the amount of bitcoin controlled by that address.

> If bad actors can see your income, holdings, and spending, they can use this information to target and exploit you[^2]
> If bad actors can see your income, holdings, and spending, they can use this information to [target and exploit you](https://docs.wasabiwallet.io/why-wasabi/TransactionSurveillanceCompanies.html#attempt-to-invade-privacy)
By _sending_ to an address that is being reused, the sender is now traceable and connected to any previous transactions the receiver has made with that address. This increases the risk of exposure to an adversary.

<!--
TODO: Link / mention gap limit
TODO: Graphic / consider how to get the ui generating multiple addresses. make it easy for the user to not fail
TODO: Graphic / consider how to get the ui generating multiple addresses. make it easy for the user to not fail
> ###### Worked Example 1 - Savings Revealed
> * You save in bitcoin, using a single-address paper wallet.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -124,15 +124,15 @@ Some applications make it possible to filter UTXOs by label to make such selecti
caption = "CoinJoin transactions attempt to make payments more private by mixing inputs from many senders and outputs to many receivers."
%}

[CoinJoins]({{ "/guide/glossary/#coinjoin" | relative_url }}) is an advanced technique where multiple participants collaborate on a transaction to break the "common input ownership" heuristic[^4], which assumes that all inputs in a transaction likely belong to the same owner. In a CoinJoin transaction all the outputs tend to be of the same amount. This makes it harder to define which input paid which output, somewhat breaking the absolute traceability of bitcoin transactions. As with any other anonymity network, a large and diverse group of participants will be more effective in disassociating the connections. CoinJoin transactions are not yet widely supported by Bitcoin applications.
[CoinJoins]({{ "/guide/glossary/#coinjoin" | relative_url }}) is an advanced technique where multiple participants collaborate on a transaction to break the "common input ownership" heuristic[^3], which assumes that all inputs in a transaction likely belong to the same owner. In a CoinJoin transaction all the outputs tend to be of the same amount. This makes it harder to define which input paid which output, somewhat breaking the absolute traceability of bitcoin transactions. As with any other anonymity network, a large and diverse group of participants will be more effective in disassociating the connections. CoinJoin transactions are not yet widely supported by Bitcoin applications.

Users still have to be mindful of how the UTXOs they received from the CoinJoin are spent. For instance, spending them together in a single transaction would unravel the anonymity gains from participating in the CoinJoin.

</div>

### Design with privacy in mind

Thinking about privacy is critical during the design process. Your users will not have the same level of knowledge of how to use Bitcoin privately.
Thinking about privacy is critical during the design process. Your users will not have the same level of knowledge of how to use Bitcoin privately.

It is especially important to help them understand any actions that might impact their privacy. Most of the risks occur at the point of creating a transaction or requesting a payment, and we should try to design solutions that reduce the risk of unknowingly degrading privacy.

Expand All @@ -143,6 +143,5 @@ There is no perfect solution to guarantee 100% privacy that lasts forever becaus
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[^1]: [Bitcoin.org - Protecting your privacy](https://bitcoin.org/en/protect-your-privacy)
[^2]: [Wasabi Wallet Docs - Transaction Surveillance Companies](https://docs.wasabiwallet.io/why-wasabi/TransactionSurveillanceCompanies.html#attempt-to-invade-privacy)
[^3]: [Top Seven Ways Your Identity Can Be Linked to Your Bitcoin Address](https://99bitcoins.com/know-more-top-seven-ways-your-identity-can-be-linked-to-your-bitcoin-address/)
[^4]: [Bitcoin Wiki / Privacy](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Privacy#Common-input-ownership_heuristic)
[^2]: [Top Seven Ways Your Identity Can Be Linked to Your Bitcoin Address](https://99bitcoins.com/know-more-top-seven-ways-your-identity-can-be-linked-to-your-bitcoin-address/)
[^3]: [Bitcoin Wiki / Privacy](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Privacy#Common-input-ownership_heuristic)

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