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Level 03 · Understand Shielding

Enter the shield.

Transparent, shielding, fully shielded and deshielding transactions, and exactly what each one leaves public.

9 min3-question checkpointReviewed November 2026

The Missing One drinks coffee in front of screens reading No Signal and No Face. No Trace.
404 saysNo signal. No face. No trace. Okay, some trace. Read the warning below.

BeginnerStart here. No prior knowledge needed.

Think of every Zcash transaction as an envelope. With a transparent transaction, the sender, the recipient and the amount are printed on the outside for everyone to read.

With a shielded transaction, those details are sealed inside with encryption. The chain still records that the envelope exists, and the network still checks it is valid. It just doesn’t tell the world who paid whom, or how much.

Four ways ZEC can move

Zcash protocol fact
  • Transparent → transparentFully public, like Bitcoin. Addresses and amount are visible.
  • Transparent → shielded“Shielding”: funds move into a shielded pool. The transparent address and the amount going in are visible.
  • Shielded → shielded“Fully shielded”: sender, recipient, amount and memo are encrypted on the chain.
  • Shielded → transparent“Deshielding”: funds leave the pool. The transparent recipient and the amount coming out are visible.

Try it

Two fictional wallets exchange ZEC. Switch views to see what a public block explorer would show.

simulated-explorer://zcashIllustrative example
Crossing the shield:

t-address → t-address

Everything on the envelope is readable by anyone, forever.

Transaction ID
fake9c41…e07d
Block / time
Fictional block · 14:32 UTC
Sender
t1DemoAlice…Fake7
Recipient
t1DemoBob…Fake2
Amount
2.50 ZEC
Memo
Not available for transparent payments
Fee
Visible

PublicPartly revealedEncrypted on chain

Simulated for teaching. These are not real Zcash addresses, transactions or block explorer screens.

ExploreOptional. Open what you’re curious about.

What stays public in a shielded transactionZcash protocol fact

Even a fully shielded transaction is still a public record. Anyone can see that it exists, which block it is in (and so roughly when it happened), and its fee. Some structural information is also visible, such as how many shielded components it has. Anything on the transparent side of the transaction stays fully public.

Zcash fees follow a proportional rule (ZIP 317): more complex transactions pay more. Your wallet calculates the fee for you. We don’t list amounts here because they can change.

Encrypted memosZcash protocol fact

Shielded outputs can carry an encrypted memo of up to 512 bytes, such as an invoice number or a note. Only the recipient, or someone they give a viewing key to, can read it. Transparent payments have no encrypted memo.

Viewing keys: privacy with consentZcash protocol fact

A viewing key gives someone read-only access to your shielded activity, for example an accountant or an auditor. Shielded doesn’t mean unaccountable. It means you choose who sees what.

Why staying shielded mattersSafety guidance

Every crossing between transparent and shielded leaves footprints at the boundary. The fewer crossings, the less there is to correlate. Distinctive amounts and tight timing make crossings easier to match.

Privacy is also a team sport. The more people use shielded transactions, the larger the crowd each shielded transaction hides in.

Real-world context

In the real world

Exchanges differ in what they support. Some only send ZEC to transparent addresses. In that case your withdrawal is public, and shielding it afterwards is a separate, visible step. Check what your exchange supports before you withdraw.

Some wallets now shield funds they receive at transparent addresses automatically. Check your wallet’s own guide to see how it behaves.

Key takeaways

  1. Transparent means public. Fully shielded means sender, recipient, amount and memo are encrypted on the chain.
  2. Shielding and deshielding are visible on their transparent side.
  3. Shielded-to-shielded transfers reveal the least.
  4. A shielded transaction is still recorded. Its existence, timing and fee are public.
  5. Off-chain information, such as your network, device and exchange records, still matters.

Knowledge checkpoint · Level 03

Check what stuck

0 / 3 correct

  1. 01In a fully shielded transaction, which of these is still public?

  2. 02You send ZEC from a transparent address to a shielded address. What can observers see?

  3. 03Which of these does shielding NOT protect against?

Deep dive

Learning resources

Checked against these sources · reviewed November 2026