Aleo is a privacy-first blockchain that allows users to choose how much transaction information is shared on-chain. When making a payment on Aleo, you can opt in to send privately or send your payment publicly, depending on your needs.
What is a public payment?
A public payment on Aleo Network works similarly to transactions on most traditional blockchains. When making a public payment, the following details are visible on-chain:
Sender address
Recipient address
Payment amount
Token type
Anyone can view these details using a blockchain explorer.
What is a private payment?
A private payment on Aleo Network enables you to send funds privately without details, such as the sender's wallet address (yours), recipient's wallet address, amount, and currency being publicly exposed in blockchain explorers. You can find an example of such a private payment on the Provable Explorer here.
Private payments enable you to hide sensitive payments, such as payroll, vendor payments, and intercompany transfers. Learn more about private payments on Aleo.org
How to pay privately
The option to send a payment on Aleo Network privately appears whenever you try to pay on Aleo Network:
Tick "Enable private payment" to use the privacy feature.
Next, click Pay Now and connect your wallet and continue with the payment flow.
Example of a private payment
Here's an example of a private payment and how it is display in Aleo Network explorers: https://explorer.provable.com/transaction/at1nuqhl6apf7wzfhglj6qgn253c02fgdmy7jpvq4kum8ug6c5pmc9qr9z80u
In Request Finance, you and the recipient can continue to access all details of the payable associated with the private payment.