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Sikh Bitcoin · Beginner · Lesson 11 of 21

Privacy is a practice

Understand why public records and personal stories should stay separate.

About 10 minutes with practice. You only need something to take notes with. No real wallet details or payments are part of this lesson.

Course contents · Lesson 11 of 21
  1. Bitcoin without jargon
  2. Keys, custody and keeping control
  3. Payments for humans, including Lightning
  4. Money, prices and units
  5. Follow a payment from request to receipt
  6. Addresses, networks and QR codes
  7. Confirmations and patience
  8. Fees buy scarce block space
  9. Backups before dependence
  10. Scams, urgency and trusted routes
  11. Privacy is a practice
  12. Custody is a relationship
  13. Reading a Lightning invoice
  14. Exchanges and access to bitcoin
  15. Volatility and practical planning
  16. A fair invoice for creative work
  17. Donations with accountable purpose
  18. Proof of work and honest energy questions
  19. Bitcoin and Litecoin: related ideas, separate networks
  20. Read Bitcoin news with a source trail
  21. Capstone: welcome a newcomer safely

What you will learn

  • Explain how an address can become linked to a person.
  • Choose a less intrusive service record.

Public does not mean anonymous

Bitcoin transactions are publicly observable. An address does not have to contain a legal name for someone to associate its activity with a person. Publishing a donation screenshot, reusing a public receiving address or disclosing transaction details to a service can create connections. Privacy depends on how the system is used, not merely on whether the address looks like random characters.

Collect less at the beginning

Imagine a kitchen wants to report its impact. Aggregate meal counts and a reconciled expense total may answer the public question without a list of guests. A person should not need to expose financial activity to receive food or thank-you credit. Ask what each field accomplishes, who can see it and when it will be deleted before collecting it.

Consent is specific

Permission to attend an event is not permission to publish a face, name or wallet address. A donor may agree to a private receipt while declining public attribution. An agent preparing a report should receive redacted data when that is sufficient. Exportability does not justify putting private records on immutable storage. Even a hash can create an unwanted link when the underlying information is easy to guess.

Practice on paper

A proposed public report includes a guest’s name, meal received and wallet address. Rewrite it to preserve accountability while reducing exposure.

Reveal the worked answer

Publish an aggregate service count, event identifier, accountable steward and summarized costs. Keep any justified private evidence access-controlled. Guests should not need wallet records to receive a meal.

Check your understanding

Choose an answer in your head or on paper, then reveal the explanation. Retry whenever you like. Answers are not submitted or scored; completion marks are your own learning notes.

1. Does a name-free address guarantee anonymity?

  • Yes
  • No
Reveal answer 1

No. Other records can connect the address to a person.

2. Does event attendance automatically authorize a public photo?

  • Yes
  • No
Reveal answer 2

No. Photography and publication need their own consent process.

Take this with you

Accountability should explain the work without exposing the people it serves.

Your learning, at your pace

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