I’ve been thinking about this term in light of ECC’s “Privacy is…” series.
I came up with some ideas, and I’m interested in your feedback. I recognise that you can’t necessarily get people to change how they use words. So maybe this would just cause confusion.
Privacy by Default
must mean that
all fundamental properties of privacy
are implemented
as part of the protocol itself.
The Power to Choose
what and with whom you’ll share
is a fundamental property of privacy.
Power of Choice can be exercised
“in-band” or “out-of-band”.
But only when it is implemented
at the protocol level,
is this property of privacy
supported “by default”.
“Optional Transparency”
is an implementation
at the level of the protocol
of the privacy property Power of Choice:
addresses can be shielded or transparent.
Support for either or both
transparent and shielded addresses
is a feature of wallets and exchanges.
Shielded by Default
is not a fundamental property of privacy,
but a user experience detail that
facilitates Power of Choice
by aligning with expectations.
Unified Addresses
is an implementation
at the protocol level of
“shielded by default”.
Support for unified addresses
is a feature of wallets and exchanges.
Zcash NU5
implements both
privacy by default
and shielded by default.