Chapter 11

Privacy Hygiene for Users

Privacy hygiene is the set of habits that reduce accidental exposure on transparent chains — without relying on specialized privacy protocols. Most deanonymization happens because users reuse addresses, link public identities to wallets, or leak metadata through RPC providers and browser extensions.

Good hygiene lowers the baseline risk before any advanced tool enters the picture. Many leaks are operational, not cryptographic.

Practical habits on transparent chains

Habit	Why it matters	Common mistake
Fresh receive addresses	Limits address clustering	Reusing one public donation address
Separate wallets by context	Isolates identity-linked activity	One wallet for everything
Mind RPC and IP metadata	Providers can log request origin	Default wallet RPC with no review
Avoid linking ENS to real identity	Public names tie history together	Personal ENS on main salary wallet

These practices reduce exposure for legitimate privacy needs — they are not a substitute for legal compliance or a guarantee of anonymity.

Timing leaks matter too. Moving funds immediately after a labeled deposit creates an obvious graph edge. Consistent transaction patterns — same gas settings, round amounts, regular intervals — fingerprint users even when addresses change.

Hardware wallets, separate browser profiles, and privacy-focused RPC endpoints add layers of protection. None of these replace legal obligations or strong protocol-level privacy when confidentiality requirements are high. Hygiene is the foundation; privacy tools build on top when the threat model demands it.