Aztec developer rolls out 'StealthNote' to protect anonymous whistleblowers

An Aztec developer has rolled out a new anonymous messaging platform. The tool, called StealthNote, leverages zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to ensure individual privacy while still allowing users to prove they belong to a specific organization, and appears to be pitched at encouraging anonymous data dumps.\

StealthNote was built using Aztec's ZK-programming language, Noir, by an employee in his spare time and is not an official Aztec product.

“Got the inside scoop on a shady company but don’t want to doxx yourself? StealthNote lets you share alpha while staying anonymous,” Aztec software developer Saleel Pichen wrote in an X message. In other words, users can share sensitive information, like insider knowledge about a company, without doxxing themselves.

In short, StealthNote uses ZK proofs and NoirLang circuits to allow users to anonymously prove they have access to a corporate email by extracting only the necessary information from a Google JWT (JSON Web Token) that is generated when users "Sign in with Google" using their company logins.

ZK proofs are a type of cryptography that enables select information to be revealed without proving how it was acquired. A common way to think about it is by being able to prove to a bartender that a customer is at least 21 years old without giving their exact age or showing their entire ID.

StealthNote currently appears to be limited to Gmail accounts, though the team appears to be planning to roll out additional features including integrations with Microsoft and other Single Sign-On providers as well as a “Slack bridge.”

“Email verification is just the beginning. Soon, you'll be able to prove membership in other anon-groups: Post as someone who received a specific email (@zkemail), post as someone from lives in a country / city (@ZKpassport, @AnonAadhaar)…and more!” Pichen wrote.

Aztec Network is a privacy-focused Layer 2 solution on the Ethereum blockchain that uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable private transactions and scalable applications. In 2022, the team raised $100 million in Series B funding led by the web3 investment firm a16z.

Editor's note: Updates piece to reflect StealthNote is not an official Aztec product.