Data Privacy

Privacy in Web3

Social applications cannot function without privacy settings. Privacy settings refer to the user policy on what data the users would want to share with who. In a web3 setting, there are no centralized servers to store the encryption (private) keys, which are necessary for the implementation of the privacy setting. It is also impossible to store them on the public blockchain since anything on the public blockchain is visible to anyone. It is possible for mobile apps to store a set of keys locally on the device. But it is in general insecure to store keys in browser cache or local storage.

Significance

With privacy enabled in web3, it makes possible functions such as personal profiles (as in Facebook), private posts, private groups, or private chats. This is an important form of social interaction. If there is no privacy, everything will be public, working as a forum. There will be much less fun.

Last updated