Best Practices for Privacy

Introduction

Veil Cash provides on-chain privacy by breaking the link between deposit and withdrawal addresses using zk-SNARKs. However, true anonymity depends on how you interact with the protocol. Below are key guidelines to maximize your privacy and avoid potential leaks of identifiable information.

Wait for Sufficient Subsequent Deposits

Your anonymity is influenced by the number of transactions that occur after your deposit (visible in the pool summary tab). If you withdraw immediately, an observer can correlate your deposit and withdrawal based on timing patterns. Best practice: Wait for a significant number of deposits after yours before withdrawing to maximize your anonymity set.

Choose the Most Active Anonymity Sets

Privacy in Veil operates on a probabilistic basis—the larger and more active an anonymity set, the stronger the privacy.

Best practice: Always opt for pools with high activity and volume, as blending into larger transaction groups reduces the chances of correlation.

Use Fragmented Deposits

Larger denomination anonymity sets typically see lower activity, making them easier to track. Instead of depositing a large sum into a single pool, consider breaking it down into smaller denominations across multiple pools. Best practice: Prioritize smaller, highly active anonymity sets to maximize privacy while balancing cost efficiency.

Avoid Predictable Deposit and Withdrawal Patterns

If you deposit exactly seven transactions and then withdraw exactly seven, it creates a recognizable pattern that weakens your anonymity. Observers can correlate these movements, even if the protocol itself does not link deposit and withdrawal addresses.

Best practice: Vary the number of deposits and withdrawals over time. Avoid 1:1 matching between deposits and withdrawals.

Use Multiple Wallets for Withdrawals

If you always withdraw to the same wallet, an observer can infer a connection between your transactions.

Best practice: Utilize multiple wallets for withdrawals by using fresh wallets that have never interacted with your primary address and avoiding the reuse of withdrawal wallets for other transactions.