Understanding the Privacy Advantages of the Internet Computer Blockchain

All too often, people confuse anonymity on the internet with someone wanting to commit wrongdoing. The fact of the matter is that you deserve your privacy when you are on the internet. Apps and platforms are selling your personal data every day, and you aren’t getting even a fraction of the money. The Internet Computer offers a unique opportunity to remain private, own your data, and only give others access to it if you are the one benefiting from it.

So how does the Internet Computer blockchain preserve your privacy? Let’s take a look at privacy on the IC at both the platform and dApp levels.

Retaining Privacy When Using the IC Platform

The Internet Computer is a decentralized platform – a true Web3 blockchain. However, to protect the core system, boundary nodes are in place. These boundary nodes do currently see your IP address when you make canister calls. At the same time, the boundary nodes re-encrypt your data when it passes it along. The ultimate goal is to decentralize the boundary nodes so that your data stays 100% private even at this exterior level.

In the meantime, the DFINITY Foundation is working with manufacturers to offer hardware solutions for data privacy on the IC. They are also looking into secure multi-party computation to increase privacy and security at the service level. Hardware-based solutions should be able to offer general privacy without slowing down transaction speed, while service-level solutions will offer the highest level of privacy for the most sensitive data while resulting in minimal amounts of increased transaction time.

How dApps Offer Privacy on the Internet Computer

On the Internet Computer, each dApp is a canister. Software creates an interface allowing you to interact with that canister using both query and update calls. Queries are basically read-only, which means that they cannot change the canister state, but it also means that the canister can't record any of your data during the call.

On the other hand, an update call results in something being stored in a canister. Technically, the dApp could record the principal ID interacting with it. One of the beautiful features of Internet Identity (II) is that it uses anonymous principal IDs every time you connect to a dApp. So you can make changes to your account (associated with your II) without any individual change you make being tied to a specific principal ID. So you can maintain your dApp accounts without a digital paper trail.

InfinitySwap as a Private DEX

Recently, the centralized crypto exchange Coinbase publicly denied allegations that they are selling user data to U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, the company did sign a contract to provide services for ICE, and one of the services they agreed to provide is that agents can access GPS tracking data. Regardless of what is actually going on with Coinbase users’ data, it raises the question of privacy around exchanges.

InfinitySwap is proud to be developing a decentralized exchange on the Internet Computer, which means your data can remain your own. You will be able to trade with confidence, knowing that we are not tracking your data or selling it to government agencies as a service. What happens with your data on InfinitySwap, and on the Internet Computer, in general, is yours to determine. After all, that’s the essence of Web3, isn’t it? It’s user-centric rather than corporate-centric.

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*Disclaimer: While every effort is made on this website to provide accurate information, any opinions expressed or information disseminated do not necessarily reflect the views of InfinitySwap itself.