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Lesson 11 / 21 · Beginner

Privacy is a practice

Understand why public records and personal stories should stay separate.

10 MIN WITH PRACTICEREAD → TRY → REFLECTNO WALLET NEEDED

By the end, you’ll be able to…

  • Explain how an address can become linked to a person.
  • Choose a less intrusive service record.
Your learning map

Three questions to carry into this lesson.

01Explain how an address can become linked to a person.
02Choose a less intrusive service record.
Use these goals to guide your reading. Try the paper exercise, then explain the result in your own words.

Public does not mean anonymous

Bitcoin transactions are publicly observable. An address does not have to contain a legal name for someone to associate its activity with a person. Publishing a donation screenshot, reusing a public receiving address or disclosing transaction details to a service can create connections. Privacy depends on how the system is used, not merely on whether the address looks like random characters.

Collect less at the beginning

Imagine a kitchen wants to report its impact. Aggregate meal counts and a reconciled expense total may answer the public question without a list of guests. A person should not need to expose financial activity to receive food or thank-you credit. Ask what each field accomplishes, who can see it and when it will be deleted before collecting it.

Consent is specific

Permission to attend an event is not permission to publish a face, name or wallet address. A donor may agree to a private receipt while declining public attribution. An agent preparing a report should receive redacted data when that is sufficient. Exportability does not justify putting private records on immutable storage. Even a hash can create an unwanted link when the underlying information is easy to guess.

Your turn / A paper experiment

Practice on paper

A proposed public report includes a guest’s name, meal received and wallet address. Rewrite it to preserve accountability while reducing exposure.

I’ve tried it — show the worked answer

Publish an aggregate service count, event identifier, accountable steward and summarized costs. Keep any justified private evidence access-controlled. Guests should not need wallet records to receive a meal.

Want to explore with buttons and instant feedback? Try the practice lab ↗

Think it through

Make a choice. Discover why.

Choose an answer and check the explanation. You can retry as often as you like. These are practice questions, not a test of mastery; answers are not saved or sent.

1. Does a name-free address guarantee anonymity?
  • Yes
  • No
Read the explanation

No. Other records can connect the address to a person.

2. Does event attendance automatically authorize a public photo?
  • Yes
  • No
Read the explanation

No. Photography and publication need their own consent process.

One idea to take with you

Accountability should explain the work without exposing the people it serves.

Your learning, at your pace

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