> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redacted.money/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.redacted.money/using-redacted/privacy.md).

# How Privacy Works

## The Privacy Set

Privacy in Redacted comes from the **privacy set** — the pool of all deposits sitting in the Private Reserve at any given time. The more users and the more diverse the deposits, the harder it becomes for anyone to link a specific withdrawal to a specific deposit.

## Best Practices for Stronger Privacy

1. **Deposit to Reserve** — Funds enter the shared pool, breaking the on-chain link to your public wallet
2. **Spend from Private Balance** — Move funds to Spendable when ready and interact with DeFi privately
3. **Wait in Reserve for privacy** — Let funds sit in the Reserve to grow your privacy set. The longer you wait, the stronger your privacy
4. **Vary your amounts** — Move different amounts than you deposited. Example: deposit $1,000 to Reserve, wait 2 days, then move only the $200 you need to Spendable

## What's Visible vs. What's Private

| Data                                                           | Visibility                       |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| Deposits into Private Reserve                                  | Public (amount, timestamp)       |
| Total Reserve pool balance                                     | Public                           |
| Spendable account interactions with DeFi                       | Public (standard contract calls) |
| Withdrawal transactions                                        | Public (amount, recipient)       |
| **Link between your public wallet and your Spendable account** | **Not linkable**                 |
| **Link between your deposit and your withdrawal**              | **Not linkable**                 |
| **Which Spendable account belongs to which depositor**         | **Not linkable**                 |

All transactions are visible on-chain. Privacy comes from the inability to link them together — not from hiding them.

## Privacy Guarantees and Limitations

### What Redacted Guarantees

* **Deposit-withdrawal unlinkability** — Probabilistic; depends on pool activity and user diversity
* **Stealth address confidentiality** — Cryptographic; protected by AES-256-CBC encryption
* **Spendable account ownership** — ZK-enforced; requires valid proof to operate
* **Non-custodial control** — Only you can move your funds, always

### What Redacted Does NOT Guarantee

* **Transaction amount privacy** — Deposit and withdrawal amounts are public
* **Transaction timing privacy** — Timestamps are public on-chain
* **Perfect anonymity** — Privacy is probabilistic, not absolute
* **Network-level privacy** — IP addresses, browser fingerprints, and client-side data are outside scope

### Factors That Strengthen Privacy

* More users depositing to the Reserve (larger privacy set)
* Greater diversity of deposit amounts and timing
* Longer wait times in Reserve before making funds spendable
* Varying the amounts you move between Reserve and Spendable

### Factors That Weaken Privacy

* Depositing and withdrawing identical uncommon amounts
* Immediate deposit-to-withdrawal sequences
* Low pool activity periods (fewer concurrent users)
* Consistent behavioral patterns that can be fingerprinted


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