Zcash privacy
Zcash Viewing Keys: Incoming and Full Access
Quick Answer
Zcash viewing keys allow selected payment information to be read without using a spending key. Incoming and Full Viewing Keys have different disclosure scopes: incoming access covers received payments, while full access also covers outgoing information defined by the protocol. Treat sharing a viewing key as deliberate disclosure and never submit it to this website.
Key Takeaways
- Incoming and Full Viewing Keys have different disclosure scopes.
- A viewing key is not a spending key, but sharing it still reveals information.
- Never submit a spending or viewing key to this site.
Incoming and full are not interchangeable
The terminology section makes a directional distinction: payments to an address, or in the full case from an address. It also describes deriving an incoming viewing key from a full viewing key and an address from an incoming viewing key.
A researcher documenting selective disclosure must therefore record the actual key type and supported transfer protocol. Calling both simply a viewing key hides relevant scope and can cause an overbroad disclosure claim.
What unified means in this context
A Unified Full Viewing Key combines full-viewing-key items; a Unified Incoming Viewing Key combines incoming-viewing-key items. ZIP 316 uses Unified Viewing Key as an umbrella for either form.
The container and its items matter: a wallet supporting one encoding does not prove complete support for every key item or pool. Receiver and platform support should be checked against a version-specific wallet source, not inferred from the Unified label.
Revision metadata is part of the evidence
The retrieved file labels Revision 0 Active, Revision 1 Withdrawn and Revision 2 Draft. This guide cites the definitions with that file-level revision context and does not treat later draft requirements as deployed capabilities.
A pinned source version makes the statement reproducible, but it is not a wallet interoperability test or proof that a particular import interface works.
A safe source-inspection workflow
For an editorial comparison, identify whether a publisher documents an incoming or full key, the protocol/pool scope, the wallet release and the described import/export operation. Record only that public evidence.
We do not accept viewing keys, seeds, spending keys or real account data, and never request them for support. The wallet database shows source statements without connecting to a wallet.
No export walkthrough or individualized privacy recommendation is provided.
FAQ
Does Incoming mean the same scope as Full?
No. The source distinguishes payments to an address from the full-key case that also covers payments from it. Exact protocol and wallet scope needs additional matching evidence.
Will this site validate my viewing key?
No. We do not accept real keys, and a support correction should contain public source links rather than account secrets.
Does a Unified Viewing Key prove wallet compatibility?
No. Its container format and a particular wallet implementation are separate evidence questions.
Sources and Methodology
Page updated: . Source observation dates remain separate.
Source checked: 2026-10-01T17:23:37.658606+00:00
Source version and supporting details
- Lines 49–53: viewing payments to/from an address and incoming-key derivation.
- Lines 65–72: UFVK, UIVK and UVK container definitions.
- Line 14: revision-specific Active, Withdrawn and Draft status.
a735caf76ed8d3fa0a50e4f6b706ca9dac39079b
02116bf336f760360b86a4ae646bc1c084f04722a25794678b1cde63cfdfe643
Methodology and technical limitations
Method and limits
This explanation paraphrases the terminology and container definitions in one immutable ZIP 316. It does not assert exact disclosure of every transaction field, complete historic coverage, all outgoing-payment recovery behavior or permissions of a specific wallet version. Those details require matching protocol and implementation sources.
Source dates describe the referenced observation or document, not a live price. How data is checked · Corrections