Building a Privacy-First URL Shortener on Blockchain

说明与用途

构建了一个隐私优先的 URL 缩短器，客户端加密链接，存储在 Cronos 区块链上，浏览器解密，服务器不知晓目标 URL。

问题

Traditional URL shorteners log user data, track browsing patterns, and sell data, creating privacy risks and a single point of failure.

结果

The system achieves a privacy‑first URL shortener where the provider never sees destination URLs, no central database exists, and the data is censorship‑resistant.

工作流

• 1. User enters a URL in the client UI.
• 2. Client generates a random IV and AES‑GCM key, encrypts the URL with Web Crypto API.
• 3. Encrypted payload is sent to a Cloudflare Worker.
• 4. Worker writes the encrypted data to the Cronos blockchain as a transaction.
• 5. Worker returns a short code (transaction hash or derived ID).
• 6. User shares the short link (e.g., https://cryptly.workers.dev/abc123).
• 7. When the link is visited, the Worker fetches the encrypted payload from the blockchain.
• 8. Browser decrypts the payload locally using the same key and IV, revealing the original URL.
• 9. Browser redirects to the destination URL without the server learning it.

证据

Encrypted URL stored on Cronos blockchain

来源

Server never sees destination

来源