A few thoughts on privacy

[zasad@]

I recommend everyone to read this article.
Leaked Slides Show How Chainalysis Flags Crypto Suspects for Cops
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/09/21/leaked-slides-show-how-chainalysis-flags-crypto-suspects-for-cops/
"Node warriors
Another way Chainalysis captures Bitcoin user data is by running nodes that verify transactions, the documents confirm. This allows the company to capture data leaks on the publicly accessible internet, or clearnet, from users’ simplified payment verification (SPV) wallets. Those services were designed to prioritize easy storage over foolproof security (although to be fair they are arguably more secure than wallets that rely on APIs to verify transactions)."

[Charles-Tim]

There is discussion going on about this on this forum since few days ago, you can check it here:

Chainalysis runs Electrum nodes.

The best for privacy is to run your own full node rather than depending on central servers, make use of Tor and never look up on your own transaction on blockchain explorers.

[notblox1]

You say that you have few thouhts about privacy but all you do is recommending us to read some old news article and you quoting what is written there.
Be more creative with clickbait titles please or write some thoughts not quotes

[LeGaulois]

People preaching privacy make me laugh. They talk about privacy by saying this and that but they are among the first to use centralized services. An exchange platform is the most demonstrative example. There's no point in using solutions like TOR for privacy or setting up your own node if, in the end, it's to use an exchange.

The reality is the majority of people are not interested in privacy at all. And as proof, they have no problem sending their document to verify their identity. Also, the majority is only there to make money from speculation. Very few people are only in it for the technical side

If someone wants an easy solution to run your Bitcoin and Lightning node they can take a look at Umbrel. It's easy to set up n any Microsoft or GNU/Linux OS and it runs on Tor by default. You can also install to it a mempool visualizer, a private backing server for Samourai wallet, and much more...
You can even install it on a Raspberry PI (but with RPI 4, otherwise the specs are too low)




twitter.com/nitindass_/status/1442792263478882306/photo/1


twitter.com/charlie11417148/status/1442648750460059648/photo/1

[tranthidung]

never look up on your own transaction on blockchain explorers.

If you use Tor to check your transactions on block explorers, no problem will break your privacy.

If you don't use Tor, your privacy will be captured by block explorers and from which such data can be leaked further to other entities: governments, other third-party companies, ie.

[pooya87]

How Chainalysis Flags Crypto Suspects for Cops

The biggest worry for regular users (since the real criminals mostly know how to hide) is when they falsely flag their transactions as suspicious since we all know that all blockchain analysis algorithms have many flaws and can never be completely accurate.

[Charles-Tim]

If you use Tor to check your transactions on block explorers, no problem will break your privacy.

Yes, you are right, but many people making use of blockchain explorers are making use of SPV wallets, all I have known is that SPV wallet is not privacy enough if compared to running owns node, but Tor can also still be used with SPV wallets but central server can link all addresses used.

The reality is the majority of people are not interested in privacy at all. And as proof, they have no problem sending their document to verify their identity. Also, the majority is only there to make money from speculation. Very few people are only in it for the technical side

Data breach is often common, what I am affraid more about is when someone knows a lot of information about you while you are not conscious about that. People need to know what privacy is, you are right that most people even do not know what privacy is now, but lacking privacy will still put a lot of people in trouble all because they are not conscious of it, I mean trouble from hackers and scammers generally.

[zasad@]

You say that you have few thouhts about privacy but all you do is recommending us to read some old news article and you quoting what is written there.
Be more creative with clickbait titles please or write some thoughts not quotes

I have written over 100 articles and small notes on this forum.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5235612
Sometimes it's better not to write anything, because everything is clear anyway.
Cryptocurrencies were created for decentralization and privacy, but this plan has been taken a hard left.
If cryptocurrencies develop at the same pace, then in 10 years the owner of the wallet will be easier to find than the owner of a mobile phone. So take action now.

[xenon131]

People preaching privacy make me laugh. They talk about privacy by saying this and that but they are among the first to use centralized services.

Agreed,

[lovesmayfamilis]

If cryptocurrencies develop at the same pace, then in 10 years the owner of the wallet will be easier to find than the owner of a mobile phone. So take action now.

Probably 10 years is too long.
It is already impossible for an ordinary person to maintain confidentiality today. This requires certain knowledge that needs to be regularly fed with the news.
Having closed one hole for the leakage of our data, we can not guess that on the other hand, they know no less about us.
Confidentiality is no longer secret today. And as Eric Hughes said in his manifesto, this is an opportunity to choose what we want to open to the world.
A call to action can also only be for those who know what they are doing and how to do it.

[nakamura12]

Data breach is often common, what I am affraid more about is when someone knows a lot of information about you while you are not conscious about that. People need to know what privacy is, you are right that most people even do not know what privacy is now, but lacking privacy will still put a lot of people in trouble all because they are not conscious of it, I mean trouble from hackers and scammers generally.

Im also afraid of what you said. Not knowing that someone who knows a lot about you and yet you didn't know about it. It could be helpful if someone gain an information about you then you would know about it. More like a data breach detector. I thought that we could have tips about making our privacy more secured especially those who use mobile wallets.

[Lucius]

Spying on crypto users has become big business, and companies like the one mentioned by the OP can be hired as is the case in the US where they work for the government. The fear that people have the opportunity to conduct transactions without intermediaries has caused a real obsession with the authorities to put it all under control.

People understand privacy differently, although most don't care at all, which makes the job even easier for these companies. It is true that achieving privacy is not easy, but also that those who try to remain anonymous attract attention because the authorities assume that they are hiding something. TOR is always mentioned as something that is a solution to a problem, but one has to wonder if it is really 100% safe in addition to everything that the secret services around the world possess today.

Simply put, if someone really wants to identify you, and you are using the internet and a smartphone, they will find you sooner or later no matter what protection you use.

[20kevin20]

People understand privacy differently, although most don't care at all, which makes the job even easier for these companies. It is true that achieving privacy is not easy, but also that those who try to remain anonymous attract attention because the authorities assume that they are hiding something. TOR is always mentioned as something that is a solution to a problem, but one has to wonder if it is really 100% safe in addition to everything that the secret services around the world possess today.

Simply put, if someone really wants to identify you, and you are using the internet and a smartphone, they will find you sooner or later no matter what protection you use.

I think that the more Tor users there are, the less weird it would be for authorities to know you're using it. If I was among the very few to want to own a gun in Europe right now, I'd be considered weird. But if 50% of Europe's citizens suddenly wanted to own a gun, things would change.

About identifying you through other means.. if we ever get to that point, I think we'd have way bigger issues to deal with and the first and main one would probably be your own family's safety. If they ever trace down citizens through highly intrusive methods, then it is time to abandon everything on the digital side if you want to have a bit of privacy again. At that point, having your transactions and history watched & analyzed is the least of the problems.

[ShowOff]

People preaching privacy make me laugh. They talk about privacy by saying this and that but they are among the first to use centralized services. An exchange platform is the most demonstrative example. There's no point in using solutions like TOR for privacy or setting up your own node if, in the end, it's to use an exchange.

The reality is the majority of people are not interested in privacy at all. And as proof, they have no problem sending their document to verify their identity. Also, the majority is only there to make money from speculation. Very few people are only in it for the technical side

Maybe I'm one of the people you mean. Privacy within certain limits may be required by bitcoin users to protect against exposure to information that may leak to other parties so that transaction and the direction of money flow can be tracked. I don't think I should have that level of privacy with bitcoin and the transactions I make with it should be as anonymous as possible.

I only consider not exposing "financial transactions" through social media and also verbally when hanging out with some friends. This is the basic privacy that we as bitcoin users should have so that we can avoid any intrusion either online or in any other way related to finance. It seems true that anyone who uses a centralized exchange and has completed KYC will be at risk of having data leak to the other party.

[Williamm07]

I gave up on bitcoin privacy things, in fact we have been lied to about BTC been fully privacy because to start buying BTC for the first time you need Fiat to make purchases, that Fiat is coming from your bank account right? That isn't privacy no more


Some might say DEX are better ways to buy BTC privately but DEX don't support Fiat, they support only coins to coins or tokens but before you can get your hands on a coin you need to buy With Fiat, that's where everything goes wrong

[Skinny48]

I gave up on bitcoin privacy things, in fact we have been lied to about BTC been fully privacy because to start buying BTC for the first time you need Fiat to make purchases, that Fiat is coming from your bank account right? That isn't privacy no more


Some might say DEX are better ways to buy BTC privately but DEX don't support Fiat, they support only coins to coins or tokens but before you can get your hands on a coin you need to buy With Fiat, that's where everything goes wrong

BTC has never and won't offer full privacy. You should blame unreliable source who said otherwise. Besides, Bitcoin can't protect your privacy if you centralized service which require your personal information.

Williamm07 is on point, even if one decide to start using decentralized exchanges you will still need to use Fiat, crypto privacy will only get more tighter once fiat is gone and many merchants are fully accepting crypto payments but I doubt anything can erase banks off the surface of this earth

[pooya87]

I gave up on bitcoin privacy things, in fact we have been lied to about BTC been fully privacy because to start buying BTC for the first time you need Fiat to make purchases, that Fiat is coming from your bank account right? That isn't privacy no more
Some might say DEX are better ways to buy BTC privately but DEX don't support Fiat, they support only coins to coins or tokens but before you can get your hands on a coin you need to buy With Fiat, that's where everything goes wrong

Bitcoin wasn't made to be ONLY traded with fiat but you are focusing on ONLY trading which is why you have confusions about bitcoin privacy anonymity.
Additionally bitcoin was not created with full anonymity and privacy in mind but still it offers a very good level of both if used correctly. For example if you can I decide on a payment for a job you would do for me and I pay you with bitcoin, we both remain anonymous while keeping this exchange private hence keeping complete privacy. And that is how bitcoin should be used not for trading and profit making.

[Synerggy]

I gave up on bitcoin privacy things, in fact we have been lied to about BTC been fully privacy because to start buying BTC for the first time you need Fiat to make purchases, that Fiat is coming from your bank account right? That isn't privacy no more
Some might say DEX are better ways to buy BTC privately but DEX don't support Fiat, they support only coins to coins or tokens but before you can get your hands on a coin you need to buy With Fiat, that's where everything goes wrong

Bitcoin wasn't made to be ONLY traded with fiat but you are focusing on ONLY trading which is why you have confusions about bitcoin privacy anonymity.
Additionally bitcoin was not created with full anonymity and privacy in mind but still it offers a very good level of both if used correctly. For example if you can I decide on a payment for a job you would do for me and I pay you with bitcoin, we both remain anonymous while keeping this exchange private hence keeping complete privacy. And that is how bitcoin should be used not for trading and profit making.

Is there anyway to get BTC without buying with Fiat? Even if one has to use other coins to buy you have to use Fiat to buy the coins first before switching to BTC, what am I missing here mate? Try to understand me, to have BTC first or any coins you have to buy with FIAT

[Charles-Tim]

I gave up on bitcoin privacy things, in fact we have been lied to about BTC been fully privacy because to start buying BTC for the first time you need Fiat to make purchases, that Fiat is coming from your bank account right? That isn't privacy no more

Who lied? Do not tell me it is one of the sites you read from which is not on this forum, right since have have registered on this forum, experienced members always make it clear that people can make use of bitcoin and have privacy, but not common people, most people are making use of centralized exchanges defeat that fact, most people nowadays that are using bitcoin are not even conscious of any privacy, and you still fall under that category of people because you do not understand much about the privacy bitcoin can offer. So, you can have privacy while using bitcoin if you decided and learn and follow the way of privacy, but having privacy can be costly.

The purpose of bitcoin is P2P means of exchange and decentralized means of payment, do not just focus it on privacy which can still be guaranteed but costly.

Some might say DEX are better ways to buy BTC privately but DEX don't support Fiat, they support only coins to coins or tokens but before you can get your hands on a coin you need to buy With Fiat, that's where everything goes wrong

Do not focus on Dex like Pancakeswap and the likes that do not even support bitcoin, Dex support fiat. You can try Localcryptos, Hodlhold or Bisq. Check the payment method for Bisq below and see how it supports fiat

Payment Methods

Is there anyway to get BTC without buying with Fiat? Even if one has to use other coins to buy you have to use Fiat to buy the coins first before switching to BTC, what am I missing here mate? Try to understand me, to have BTC first or any coins you have to buy with FIAT

Yes, you can work for it, like signature campaign on this forum, also not limited to that. If you read my above post, you can still make use of fiat to buy bitcoin and have privacy by making use of decentralized exchanges like bisq. If you think you do not have privacy enough, you can use mixer for tumbling, also you can use Wasabi wallet to CoinJoin, converting bitcoin to monero and monero back to bitcoin. No on way to have privacy, but you can have privacy while making use of bitcoin.

[Pmalek]

Is there anyway to get BTC without buying with Fiat? Even if one has to use other coins to buy you have to use Fiat to buy the coins first before switching to BTC, what am I missing here mate? Try to understand me, to have BTC first or any coins you have to buy with FIAT

Use cash. Cash doesn't leave digital fingerprints and can't be traced. Arrange a meeting with a bitcoin seller from https://localcryptos.com/, for example. Sit down, drink a cup of coffee, give him cash in exchange for bitcoin. No government or agency can trace or know you purchased bitcoin with cash. It's still fiat, but banks, cards, and payment processors (third parties weren't involved in the transaction).

pooya87 is talking about working for bitcoin, the same way you work for fiat. That way, you aren't even exchanging it for cash. You are monetizing your skills and getting paid in crypto.