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Code Issues Releases Wiki Activity

CH02::getting inputs: warn about privacy for address lookup calls

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David A. Harding 2023-02-04 14:36:36 -10:00
parent fbdb840923
commit 58643749fb
1 changed files with 8 additions and 3 deletions
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ch02.asciidoc
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@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ information from the Bitcoin network. With each transaction or block
example, we will provide a URL so you can look it up yourself and study
it in detail.
[[block-explorer-privacy]]
.Block explorer privacy warning
[WARNING]
====
Searching information on a block explorer may disclose to its operator
@ -354,15 +356,18 @@ However, because full nodes use more resources, most
user wallets run "lightweight" clients that track only the user's own
UTXOs.
If the wallet application does not maintain a copy of unspent
transaction outputs, it can query the Bitcoin network to retrieve this
If the wallet application does not maintain a copy of all UTXOs, it can
query the Bitcoin network to retrieve this
information using a variety of APIs available by different providers or
by asking a full-node using an application programming interface (API)
by asking a full node using an application programming interface (API)
call. <<example_2-2>> shows an API request, constructed as an HTTP GET
command to a specific URL. This URL will return all the unspent
transaction outputs for an address, giving any application the
information it needs to construct transaction inputs for spending. We
use the simple command-line HTTP client _cURL_ to retrieve the response.
Note that looking up information using a third-party API like this is similar to
using a block explorer; see the privacy warning in
<<block-explorer-privacy>>.
[[example_2-2]]
.Look up all the unspent outputs for Alice's Bitcoin address