Vault Identifiers

App-specific anonymous user ID.

Sismo uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to let users prove ownership/group membership of their Data Sources. Personal data (e.g. data that proves ownership of an NFT from a specific collection) can be revealed to applications integrated with Sismo Connect without revealing the associated Data Source.

For example, users can prove they own a certain NFT (i.e. prove they are part of the group of NFT owners) without revealing the wallet address (i.e. Data Source) holding it.

Despite offering privacy, many applications still need to keep track of individual users to avoid double spends or enable more complex user management. Identifiers also need to remain specific to each application to avoid the possibility of tracking users across multiple applications.

Sovereign & Anonymous ID for Sismo Connect Apps

A Vault Identifier, also known as vaultId, is calculated using the following formula:

vaultId = hash(vaultSecret, hash(appId, derivationKey))

Here's what each component represents:

1. vaultSecret: This is a confidential piece of information exclusive to a Data Vault’s owner. it must be understood as the seed/ private key of the user.

2. appId: This represents the unique identifier for the associated Sismo Connect application.

3. derivationKey: By default, this is set to zero. However, it can optionally be used by application developers to generate multiple user identifiers for a single Data Vault owner.

Anonymous

Only the owner of a Data Vault knows their associated vaultSecret. As a result, they are the only person capable of computing their unique vaultId for a specific application.

Computation occurs when users prove group memberships/ownership of Data Sources during the generation of ZKPs. When the application verifies the ZKP, it receives the Vault Identifier as an output, thus authenticating the owner as a unique user.

App-Specific

The use of an application's appId in the formula ensures the uniqueness of Vault Identifiers across different applications. This feature eliminates any risk of cross-application exposure or doxxing.

Deterministic

As a Vault Identifier is deterministically derived from a vaultSecret and appId , a single user cannot have multiple identifiers for a specific application unless they create another Data Vault. However, Data Sources can only be added to a single Data Vault, thus ensuring a user cannot use the same Data Source twice to prove membership in a Data Group without the application being aware.

Native Data Sources

In addition, Vault Identifiers can be used as native Data Sources in the Sismo ecosystem. This allows for the creation of Data Groups containing Vault Identifiers, which can be used by users to make group membership claims on additional Sismo Connect applications.

Case Studies

The following case studies contain examples of vaultId being used in a real-world context.

Vault Identifier as a Nullifier

SafeAirdrop, a Sybil-resistant airdrop leveraging privately aggregated data, uses vaultId to prevent individual users from receiving an airdrop more than once. As users always compute the same vaultId on a specific application, they cannot access the application’s gated feature after already claiming the airdrop.

Although the application can identify whether a user is unique or not, privacy is not compromised as a vaultId does not contain any sensitive information and cannot be linked to other applications or the user’s private vault. In this context, vaultId acts as the nullifier frequently used by zero-knowledge protocols to prevent double spends.

Read the full case study here.

Vault Identifier as a Sybil-Resistant User ID

Privacy Is Normal is an anonymous Sybil-resistant lottery for Tornado Cash users. The application uses Vault Identifiers to identify lottery participants are unique individuals and select winners. Lottery winners were then able to claim their prize by proving their own a winning vaultId.

Despite knowing whether a user has already entered the lottery or not, the application has no access to sensitive information that could identify the user in question. As a result, vaultId functions as a Sybil-resistant user ID that allows the application to track user activity without infringing on their privacy.

Read the full case study here.