ZK Proofs for Internet Privacy

According to a cryptocurrency executive, zero-knowledge proofs could be used to address the “biggest problem” plaguing the internet today’s privacy.

Brennen Schlueter of Aleo stated that while ZK proofs have become a popular solution to provide blockchains with enhanced scalability via ZK rollups, they have the potential to completely transform the internet.

ZK proofs permit the transmission of information between two parties, with the originator revealing only pertinent information to the recipient.

To enter a bar, for instance, without disclosing one’s actual age or identity to a security officer According to Schlueter, the modern internet was not designed with user privacy in mind.

About the ease with which a user’s online privacy can be compromised, Schlueter explained, “When data needs to change hands, when data needs to be custodied, we’ll always have vulnerabilities there.”

According to Schlueter, ZK proofs resolve this privacy issue not only for Web3 but for the entire internet.

“With zero-knowledge proofs, we can begin to see how data can be secured from the beginning by revealing the required information,” he continued:

I think it changes the route that we are going with the internet broadly.”

Developers and data custodians will no longer have to choose between creating a private environment and optimizing the user experience.

“Those two things are at war with the way that we currently structure the internet.”

Schlueter explained, adding that Tiancheng Xie, chief technology officer of ZK-powered interoperability platform.

Polyhedra stated that artificial intelligence tools may also benefit from the privacy and censorship-resistant properties provided by ZK proofs.

Schlueter stated that finance, identity, and gaming are additional industries that benefit from ZK proofs.

According to him, more financial institutions are turning to ZK solutions to enhance privacy wherever the firms deem it necessary.