Do you know which Bitcoin wallets provides complete anonymity & privacy?

[elevates]

Since Anonymity and Privacy are so much important when you have Bitcoin in your wallet. That is the reason for my creating this topic. If you have or know any other wallet that provides you with the same then please leave your reply. Let's get started.

The need for secure and private Bitcoin wallets has become a pressing issue for users. With so many different types of Bitcoin wallets available, it can be difficult to know which one is right for you. Let's explore the top 3 Bitcoin wallets for complete anonymity as per my understanding.

Let me first discuss the type of Bitcoin wallet available on the market.

There are many different types of Bitcoin wallets, each with its own unique features and benefits. These include online wallets, hardware wallets, and mobile wallets. While these wallets offer convenience and ease of use, they may not always provide the level of anonymity that some users require. In this situation, anonymous Bitcoin wallets are useful.

What do we need to look for in a wallet for privacy & anonymity?

In order to choose an anonymous Bitcoin wallet, there are several important factors to consider. First and foremost, security features are crucial. Look for wallets that offer private key protection, two-factor authentication, and other security features to protect your privacy and keep your funds secure.

Another important factor to consider is offline storage. Many of the most secure and anonymous Bitcoin wallets offer cold storage options, which allow you to store your funds offline for added security. This can be especially important if you are storing large amounts of Bitcoin.

In the end, consider choosing a decentralized and non-custodial wallet for greater control over your funds. Decentralized wallets allow you to maintain full control over your private keys, while non-custodial wallets do not require you to trust a third party with your funds.

My recommendation of Bitcoin wallets that are best for complete anonymity

Wasabi Wallet:



Wasabi Wallet is a desktop Bitcoin wallet that is designed specifically for complete anonymity. It offers private key protection, coinjoin transactions, and Tor integration for added privacy. Wasabi Wallet also offers cold storage options, which allow you to store your funds offline for added security.

PROS-

• High level of anonymity and privacy.
• Offers coinjoin transactions for added privacy.
• Allows offline storage.

CONS-

• Beginners might find it more challenging to use it.

Samourai Wallet:



Samourai Wallet is a mobile Bitcoin wallet that is designed for complete anonymity. It offers private key protection, stealth mode, and coinjoin transactions for added privacy. Samourai Wallet also allows for offline storage and does not require any personal information to be submitted during the sign-up process.

PROS-

• High level of anonymity and privacy.
• Offers coinjoin transactions for added privacy.
• IMO it has a user-friendly interface.

CONS-

• This is one of the smallest issues as it is only available as a mobile app but some users would question the security of mobile devices

Electrum Wallet:



This is my personal favorite Bitcoin wallet which is available both for desktop and mobile devices. I recommend the desktop Bitcoin wallet as it provides more features, strong security than the mobile app. It offers private key protection, two-factor authentication, and multi-signature transactions for added security. Electrum Wallet also allows for cold storage options, which can be especially useful for storing large amounts of Bitcoin.

PROS-

• High level of anonymity and privacy.
• IMO it has a user-friendly interface.
• Very simple interface.

CONS-

• May not offer as high a level of anonymity as other wallets
  

Recap

When it comes to choosing an anonymous Bitcoin wallet, there are many factors to consider. Look for wallets that offer strong security features, offline storage options, and decentralized control over your funds. Wasabi Wallet, Samourai Wallet, and Electrum Wallet are all excellent choices for those looking for complete anonymity in their Bitcoin transactions. The ideal wallet for you will ultimately depend on your unique requirements and tastes. Consider your priorities and choose the wallet that is right for you.

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[Plaguedeath]

Why three of them have a same pros? I think each wallet is using it's own method to increase the privacy, but you're just make a conclusion where if we're using this wallet, we will have a complete anonymity and privacy, which is a wrong statement.

You need to read about this thread to know if wasabi wallet is 100% privacy oriented or not The default Wasabi Wallet coordinator will start censoring "illegal" UTXOs

I don't think it's enough to use the coinjoin feature to stay anonymous, you still need to use a mixer and follow a lot steps to achieve it.

[hosseinimr93]

Look for wallets that offer private key protection, two-factor authentication, and other security features to protect your privacy and keep your funds secure.

With using a wallet with 2FA feature, not only you don't increase your privacy, but you hurt your privacy.
For having 2FA, you have to use a custodial wallet and give a third party full control over your fund. In this way, you lose both security and privacy.
(The only wallet that allow you to have 2FA while having full control over your fund is electrum. As the 2FA feature is provided by a third party called trustedcoin, you still have to sacrifice your privacy.)

[NeuroticFish]

PROS-

• High level of anonymity and privacy.
• Offers coinjoin transactions for added privacy.
• IMO it has a user-friendly interface.

CONS-

• May not offer as high a level of anonymity as other wallets
  

Electrum offers coinjoin? Must be a copy-paste mistake.
Also coinjoin is imho overrated, since the link between coins/inputs is not broken and also the coordinator knows about all the movements.
And, let's not forget: you could have been also adding at least Bitcoin Core to the list. Maybe Sparrow too.

The 2FA part was already said, I won't repeat that.

[elevates]

Electrum offers coinjoin? Must be a copy-paste mistake.

My mistake! I have edited it.

With using a wallet with 2FA feature, not only you don't increase your privacy, but you hurt your privacy.

By the way, clearing Google CAPTCHA also hampers your privacy which we do when we log in to the forum.TOR is available on all three wallets.

[hosseinimr93]

With using a wallet with 2FA feature, not only you don't increase your privacy, but you hurt your privacy.

By the way, clearing Google CAPTCHA also hampers your privacy which we do when we log in to the forum.TOR is available on all three wallets.

I think you didn't understand my point. You recommended using 2FA for increasing the security and privacy while that's not a good idea.
If you want to have 2FA, you have to go for a custodial wallet and due to obvious reasons that you know, we should avoid custodial wallets.
You can't have 2FA on Wasabi or Samourai at all. As I said in my previous post only electrum allow you to have 2FA. The 2FA feature is provided by a third party called trustedcoin and you have to pay additional fee for using their service.

[elevates]

With using a wallet with 2FA feature, not only you don't increase your privacy, but you hurt your privacy.
If you want to have 2FA, you have to go for a custodial wallet and due to obvious reasons that you know, we should avoid custodial wallets.
You can't have 2FA on Wasabi or Samourai at all. As I said in my previous post only electrum allow you to have 2FA. The 2FA feature is provided by a third party called trustedcoin and you have to pay additional fee for using their service.

I understood what you said but the heading What do we need to look for in a wallet for privacy & anonymity? is about an overall overview in deciding on a Bitcoin wallet. It does not specify Wasabi or Samourai at all. I did write before your quoted statement.

This is what you quoted:

Look for wallets that offer private key protection, two-factor authentication, and other security features to protect your privacy and keep your funds secure.

With using a wallet with 2FA feature, not only you don't increase your privacy, but you hurt your privacy.
For having 2FA, you have to use a custodial wallet and give a third party full control over your fund. In this way, you lose both security and privacy.
(The only wallet that allow you to have 2FA while having full control over your fund is electrum. As the 2FA feature is provided by a third party called trustedcoin, you still have to sacrifice your privacy.)

I guess you forgot to read the below generic statement before your quoted one. I also had Electrum in my mind and therefore I used this statement.

In order to choose an anonymous Bitcoin wallet, there are several important factors to consider. First and foremost, security features are crucial.

[dkbit98]

If you are concerned about privacy I would suggest to check open source desktop wallet called Sparrow.
This is probably second best Bitcoin wallet after Electrum, and it has support for Tor, Paynyms, Coinjoin with Whirlpool, support for hardware wallets, strong encryption, etc.
https://sparrowwallet.com/

For mobile wallet Unstoppable wallet is decent choice, it's open source, has Tor support and it respects privacy:
https://unstoppable.money/

Wallets that support Lightning Network and some second layer privacy solutions (Mercury Wallet) can also be consider good for privacy.

[m2017]

If you are concerned about privacy I would suggest to check open source desktop wallet called Sparrow.
This is probably second best Bitcoin wallet after Electrum, and it has support for Tor, Paynyms, Coinjoin with Whirlpool, support for hardware wallets, strong encryption, etc.
https://sparrowwallet.com/

For mobile wallet Unstoppable wallet is decent choice, it's open source, has Tor support and it respects privacy:
https://unstoppable.money/

Wallets that support Lightning Network and some second layer privacy solutions (Mercury Wallet) can also be consider good for privacy.

Why use the second best wallet when the first one exists?

I allow this as a craving for knowledge and curiosity, as well as to personally test the effectiveness of crypto wallet.

It's good that you suggested sparrowwallet as a continuation and addition to OP's wallets. It would also be interesting to hear the opinion of users who have experience using Electrum and Sparrow, why does Electrum still take first place in this competition? Do many here agree with this?

[hosseinimr93]

I guess you forgot to read the below generic statement before your quoted one. I also had Electrum in my mind and therefore I used this statement.

I read your topic completely and I disagree with the 2FA part. That's all.
You said: "Look for wallets that offer private key protection, two-factor authentication, and other security features to protect your privacy and keep your funds secure."

It's not a good idea to look for a wallet that offer two-factor authentication. As I already said, if you want to have 2FA, you have to rely on a third party and that's against the purpose of bitcoin.

[dkbit98]

Why use the second best wallet when the first one exists?

If you have the ability to fully read my previous message than you will see the reasons I stated why I recommended Sparrow wallet, in some areas it is better than Electrum wallet.
It is totally related to question Elevates asked about privacy, and I don't think further explanation is needed at all.

[dzungmobile]

High level of anonymity and privacy.

Is it true with Electrum wallet?

I know we can use Tor with Electrum but high level of anonymity and privacy is not accurate.

You forgot one important advantage of Electrum. It is very light in storage space because technically, it is a SPV wallet.

[Outhue]

How can these bitcoin wallets provide complete anonymity and privacy when they are meant to always be online? What you need is a hardware wallet with an air-gapped feature, completely offline is the only solution.

Hackers rely on internet connection or USB slot connection to steal your information,  when it comes to air-gapped devices there is no way hackers can take advantage of your wallet,  they are always offline.

[hosseinimr93]

High level of anonymity and privacy.

Is it true with Electrum wallet?

You can protect your privacy and anonymity, if you run your own server and use TOR connection.
With using TOR connection, you hide your IP address and with running your own server, you no longer have to connect to others server and there is no way for them to link your addresses with each other.  

[Plaguedeath]

How can these bitcoin wallets provide complete anonymity and privacy when they are meant to always be online? What you need is a hardware wallet with an air-gapped feature, completely offline is the only solution.

How it's possible a hardware wallet will provide a complete anonymity and privacy? after all when you want to access your coins, you need to connect your hardware wallet through hot wallet, so after all you still need to use online wallet and it will depends on your setup.

Hardware wallet is just offer you a good security level, not about anonymity and privacy. Someone who find your hardware wallet obviously think you must have Bitcoin, but if you use your phone as your cold storage, they wouldn't think you own Bitcoin.

[hosseinimr93]

How it's possible a hardware wallet will provide a complete anonymity and privacy?

If you use your hardware wallet properly, you can protect your anonymity and privacy.
A solution is to connect your hardware wallet to electrum and run your own server and use TOR connection.

[ABCbits]

You need to read about this thread to know if wasabi wallet is 100% privacy oriented or not The default Wasabi Wallet coordinator will start censoring "illegal" UTXOs

Also read their official statement at https://blog.wasabiwallet.io/zksnacks-blacklisting-update/.

I don't think it's enough to use the coinjoin feature to stay anonymous, you still need to use a mixer and follow a lot steps to achieve it.

Why do you think so? Even mixer cannot guarantee anonymity, see Breaking Mixing Services.

High level of anonymity and privacy.

Is it true with Electrum wallet?

By default, no. Electrum wallet simply send list of address on your wallet to few random Electrum server.

[dzungmobile]

High level of anonymity and privacy.

Is it true with Electrum wallet?

By default, no. Electrum wallet simply send list of address on your wallet to few random Electrum server.

Yep. It means the pros point in OP is not correct.

By default settings that are for normal users, Electrum is not good for anon and privacy.

[pakhitheboss]

Yep. It means the pros point in OP is not correct.

By default settings that are for normal users, Electrum is not good for anon and privacy.

Nope, I would say the level of anonymity when compared with Wasabi and Samourai might not be on that level. However, still you would get anonymity if you are constantly using new receiving/sending addresses generated by Electrum. Transactions cannot be made hidden on the blockchain but they can only be disguised.

If you are so concerned then It is better to use Chipmixer which is free as the platform does not charge any fee. For any transaction they would charge the miner fee. If you are not aware on how it works then you should read page 9/30 of this PDF file on - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know AboutBitcoin Mixers (But Were Afraid to Ask).

If you want to know which Bitcoin Mixer you should then you should read the below post.

• 2023 List Bitcoin Mixers Bitcoin Tumblers Websites

I do not think everything written by the OP is correct. I know a lot could have been discussed in this post as many important points were left out. I would be happy to read this post and then verify the content by visiting those links rather than judging it with a reply. If you are someone who believes on others rather do it all yourself then you might encounter problems in the future.

[Jon_Hodl]

I don't think there's a way to achieve perfect privacy or anonymity but I use Sparrow wallet, run my own node/electrum server, CoinJoin, and practice good privacy like using coin control etc.

With that combo I have a pretty high level of privacy but I don't think it will ever be perfect.

If your wallet is connecting to random electrum servers to update your address balances, I would consider that completely compromised and little to no privacy.

IMHO, there is no privacy without running your own node.