Blockchair updates privacy policy to fully respect user anonymity

Blockchair is attempting to become the most privacy-oriented block explorer available by updating their privacy policy to fully respect user anonymity. The company will now no longer collect user activity logs and will not use web analytics.

In their updated policy, the company state: “Privacy is at risk when you share any information with third parties. Cryptocurrency exchanges with KYC policies, online retailers that require delivery addresses, and web wallets associated with phone numbers all require you to share information.”

Is it unsafe to share your personal data?

In the new policy, Blockchair make the case against other blockchain explorers and cryptocurrency companies that store user information, including  balances, transactions, and types of cryptocurrency.

The company say this could lead to companies or users having their data stolen, published, or even shared with a government agency.

The policy reads: “If it becomes public knowledge that you have significant funds stored in cryptocurrency, you’re likely to be targeted by other cybercriminals. Your personal safety may be at risk too.”

What data do they store?

Blockchair now only collects anonymous aggregated data from users.

They also store incoming IP addresses for short periods of around 5 to 10 minutes. The reason for this is to limit the rate of API requests.

“Your device may store technical cookies, such as those that keep the night mode on. In this case, only the client part of the site interacts with them. Collected data is used to improve user experience and compile website traffic statistics.”

They can log, but they will be transparent

However, Blockchair did say that they might activate logging procedures to safeguard their services during an attack, claiming: “If this happens, we will post a notification in the site header to let you know we’re collecting additional information during the attack. Once the attack has been stopped, all logs will be deleted along with the notification.”

Now that public blockchains are a thing, we must come to trust the transparency and intentions of the creators of public explorer tools.

Block explorers are becoming the “new third party” for value, and the best thing about them is that they don’t hold your private keys.