Privacy is not a feature— it’s the architecture.
Visible is built to be self-sovereign: your data is processed on your device, encrypted by default, and backed up on decentralized storage only when you choose.
The principles.
On-device first
The most sensitive computation happens on your device. You don’t have to trust a central server to do the right thing.
Encrypt by default
If data is stored, it’s stored as ciphertext. Encryption happens on your device, with keys you control.
You hold the keys
Self-sovereign means your data is not "owned" by Visible. Control is enforced cryptographically, not by policy.
Proofs over disclosure
Zero-Knowledge Proofs make it possible to verify outcomes without exposing raw personal data. This is a core primitive in how Visible is designed to work.
What “self-sovereign” actually means.
In most products, your data lives on someone else’s servers, under someone else’s control. Self-sovereign flips that: your device and your keys define access.
- •Control: you decide what to connect, what to store, and what to share.
- •Portability: your encrypted state can be backed up and moved across devices without handing the contents to a central operator.
- •Enforcement: privacy isn’t just a promise; it’s enforced by cryptography.
Self‑sovereign identity (visual)
You (your device)
Your identity state + credentials live locally. You hold the keys.
Encrypted backup (decentralized storage)
Ciphertext only. Storage nodes never receive decryption keys.
Proofs to apps / verifiers
Share proofs and outcomes—without sharing raw identity-linked data.
No central server in the middle: control comes from keys and proofs, not from trusting an operator to behave.
Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs).
ZKPs let you prove something is true without revealing the underlying private data. They’re one of the key building blocks that makes “self-sovereign” practical: the system can verify outcomes without needing your raw personal data.
A Zero-Knowledge Proof allows your device to produce a verifiable proof that you meet a requirement (or that a computation was performed correctly) without exposing the secret inputs that make it true.
Prove eligibility, keep your private state private
Prove a constraint without disclosing the raw inputs that satisfy it.
Outcomes and aggregates, not identities
The verifier learns the result it needs, but not the underlying personal data.
Verified: Age > 18
Proof: 0x7f...3a9 (Valid)
The verifier learns the fact (Age > 18), not the raw DOB.
The trust model.
Who holds what power—and why the architecture matters.
You
Hold the keys. Decide what to store, what to share, and when to back up.
Visible
Ships code and product logic. We aim to avoid holding readable personal data on a central server.
Decentralized storage nodes
Store encrypted ciphertext if you opt into backup—without the keys needed to decrypt.
Apps / verifiers
Receive proofs or aggregated outputs, not raw identity-linked data.
Why governance matters for privacy.
Self-sovereignty isn’t only cryptography—it’s also incentives and control. Our long-term goal is for Visible to be governed by a DAO, so the rules of the system can’t quietly drift away from users.
Transparent upgrades
Protocol changes should be proposed, discussed, and approved in the open—so architecture decisions remain aligned with user sovereignty.
Community oversight
A DAO creates shared ownership over system rules: governance, budgets, and priorities become legible and contestable.
Incentives, not extraction
The economic layer can be governed so that participation rewards privacy-preserving outcomes, rather than data extraction.
A staged path
DAO governance is a destination, not a switch. The intent is progressive decentralization as the product, security model, and community mature.
Powering the Network of Trust.
The VSBL token is the economic layer that makes privacy-preserving participation viable: it funds storage, processing, and ingest, and it powers bounties that reward people for answering questions or sharing verified facts via Zero-Knowledge Proofs—without exposing identities or raw personal data.
Facts, not dossiers
Participants can prove constraints (e.g. “over 18”, “in London”) without revealing the private inputs.
Rewards for privacy-preserving answers
VSBL aligns incentives so useful insight can be produced without surveillance or data extraction.
Use tokens or offset costs
Earned VSBL tokens can be used to pay for Visible services, ask your own questions on the network, or offset compute costs.
Network of Trust (flow)
proofs + incentives1) A question is posted
“How are you feeling about work right now?”
budgeted reward: VSBL
2) People respond privately
Response + ZK proof (identity hidden)
shared: verified facts / aggregates
3) The network settles incentives
Payout to participants
+ VSBLBusinesses and apps get insight—without ever receiving personal data.
Key idea: the token incentivizes truth and privacy at the same time.
Our commitments.
Clear incentives. Minimal trust. Transparent design.
We do not sell personal data.
Visible is designed to be premium and transparent—your privacy is not the business model.
We minimize what we centralize.
We avoid architectures that require a central server to hold readable personal data.
We keep choices explicit.
Backup, sharing, and network participation are opt-in—designed so you can understand what happens and why.