Building a Privacy-First URL Shortener on Blockchain

Описание и применение

Автор создал Cryptly — URL-сократитель с упором на конфиденциальность, использующий блокчейн Cronos и клиентское шифрование AES-GCM. Это предотвращает отслеживание и утечки данных, так как сервер никогда не видит конечный URL.

Задача

Traditional URL shorteners like bit.ly compromise user privacy by logging IPs, timestamps, user agents, and destination URLs, tracking browsing patterns, selling data to advertisers, and maintaining centralized databases vulnerable to hacking.

Результат

A privacy-first URL shortener named Cryptly was created, ensuring that destination URLs remain encrypted until decrypted locally in the user's browser, eliminating server-side tracking and central database vulnerabilities.

Рабочий процесс

• Client-side encryption of the destination URL using AES-GCM via the Web Crypto API.
• Storage of the encrypted URL on the Cronos blockchain for immutable, decentralized record-keeping.
• Browser fetches the encrypted data from the blockchain.
• Local decryption of the URL in the browser using the Web Crypto API.
• Redirection to the destination URL without the server ever processing the final link.

Доказательства

Server never sees destination URLs

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Encrypted URL stored on Cronos blockchain

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Live demo: cryptly.workers.dev

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