Privacy Levels

Privacy Levels

SIP defines three privacy levels that users can select per-intent.

Overview

Level	Privacy	Compliance	Use Case
TRANSPARENT	None	Full	Maximum compatibility
SHIELDED	Full	None	Maximum privacy
COMPLIANT	Full + Disclosure	Selective	Institutional/regulatory

TRANSPARENT

Standard on-chain transaction with no privacy enhancements.

const intent = await sip
  .intent()
  .input('near', 'NEAR', 100n)
  .output('ethereum', 'ETH')
  .privacy(PrivacyLevel.TRANSPARENT)
  .build()

Visibility

Information	Visible To
Sender address	Everyone
Input amount	Everyone
Output amount	Everyone
Recipient address	Everyone

Required Proofs

None - standard transaction signing only.

Use Cases

• DEX integrations requiring transparency
• Public treasury operations
• Airdrops and distributions
• Testing and debugging

SHIELDED

Full privacy with cryptographic hiding of sender, amounts, and recipient.

const intent = await sip
  .intent()
  .input('ethereum', 'ETH', 1_000_000_000_000_000_000n)
  .output('zcash', 'ZEC')
  .privacy(PrivacyLevel.SHIELDED)
  .build()

Visibility

Information	Visible To	Hidden Via
Sender address	Nobody	Sender commitment
Input amount	Nobody	Pedersen commitment
Output amount	Solver only (range)	Commitment
Recipient address	Nobody	Stealth address
Min output required	Everyone	Plaintext (for quoting)

Required Proofs

Proof	Purpose
Funding Proof	Prove balance ≥ input
Validity Proof	Prove authorization
Fulfillment Proof	Prove correct delivery

What Solvers See

Solver view:
├── "Someone wants to swap"
├── "Input: ??? amount of SOL (committed)"
├── "Output: at least 100 ZEC"
├── "Recipient: stealth address 0x..."
└── "Proof that sender has sufficient funds: ✓"

Guarantees

Property	Guaranteed?	Mechanism
Sender privacy	Yes	Pedersen commitment
Amount privacy	Yes	Amount commitments
Recipient privacy	Yes	Stealth address
Unlinkability	Yes	Fresh blinding + stealth per tx

COMPLIANT

Full privacy with selective disclosure for authorized auditors.

const viewingKey = sip.generateViewingKey('/audit')

const intent = await sip
  .intent()
  .input('solana', 'SOL', 5_000_000_000n)
  .output('near', 'NEAR')
  .privacy(PrivacyLevel.COMPLIANT)
  .viewingKey(viewingKey)
  .build()

Visibility

Information	Public	Auditor (with key)
Sender address	Hidden	Visible
Input amount	Hidden	Visible
Output amount	Hidden	Visible
Recipient address	Hidden	Visible
Audit trail	Hidden	Full history

Auditor Workflow

1. User creates COMPLIANT intent
2. User designates auditor (provides viewing key hash)
3. Transaction data encrypted with auditor’s key
4. Encrypted blob stored with intent
5. Auditor decrypts when needed
6. Auditor generates ViewingProof for reports

Use Cases

• Institutional trading
• Tax compliance
• Regulatory requirements
• DAO treasury operations

Comparison Matrix

Privacy

Aspect	TRANSPARENT	SHIELDED	COMPLIANT
Sender hidden	No	Yes	Yes (public) / No (auditor)
Amount hidden	No	Yes	Yes (public) / No (auditor)
Recipient hidden	No	Yes	Yes (public) / No (auditor)
Audit possible	Trivial	No	Yes (with key)

Performance

Aspect	TRANSPARENT	SHIELDED	COMPLIANT
Proof generation	None	~2-5s	~2-5s + encryption
Verification	Fast	~10ms	~10ms
Data size	Small	Medium	Medium + encrypted blob

Use Case Fit

Use Case	Recommended Level
Public DEX swap	TRANSPARENT
Personal privacy	SHIELDED
Institutional trading	COMPLIANT
Tax reporting needed	COMPLIANT
Anonymous donation	SHIELDED
Regulated exchange	COMPLIANT

Transition Rules

TRANSPARENT → SHIELDED ✓ (add proofs and commitments)
TRANSPARENT → COMPLIANT ✓ (add proofs + viewing key)
SHIELDED → COMPLIANT ✓ (add viewing key encryption)
SHIELDED → TRANSPARENT ✗ (cannot reveal hidden data)
COMPLIANT → SHIELDED ✗ (auditor key already shared)
COMPLIANT → TRANSPARENT ✗ (cannot reveal hidden data)

Once data is committed/hidden, it cannot be revealed without user cooperation.

SDK Usage

import { SIP, PrivacyLevel } from '@sip-protocol/sdk'

const sip = new SIP({ network: 'testnet' })

// Transparent
const transparent = await sip.createIntent({
  privacyLevel: PrivacyLevel.TRANSPARENT,
  sender: '0x...',
  recipient: '0x...',
  inputAmount: 100n,
})

// Shielded - SDK generates commitments, stealth, proofs
const shielded = await sip.createIntent({
  privacyLevel: PrivacyLevel.SHIELDED,
  inputAmount: 100n,
})

// Compliant - SDK adds encrypted viewing data
const compliant = await sip.createIntent({
  privacyLevel: PrivacyLevel.COMPLIANT,
  inputAmount: 100n,
  auditorKeyHash: '0x...',
})

Security Considerations

Privacy Level Selection

Consideration	Guidance
Default level	SHIELDED (privacy by default)
Downgrade requests	Reject - cannot downgrade
Level in metadata	Included in intent_hash

Commitment Binding

All commitments are bound to privacy level:

commitment_hash = Poseidon(
  commitment,
  privacy_level,
  intent_id
)

This prevents commitment reuse across different privacy contexts.

Auditor Trust

For COMPLIANT mode:

• User chooses auditor (not protocol)
• Multiple auditors supported
• Revocation possible but doesn’t hide past disclosures