Choose a strong password
It is the only thing protecting the wallet file if someone copies it from your computer.
Privacy in MultiBit
Bitcoin payments are public by design. This page shows which wallet data stays on your computer, what peers and the blockchain can see, and how to reduce what others link to you.
Where your data goes
Keys and notes stay local. Only signed transactions and address filters leave your computer.
- Stage 01
Stays on your computer
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Encrypted keys
Sign payments locally. Never sent to peers.
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Wallet file
Addresses and transaction records, protected by your password.
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Labels and settings
Notes and preferences are not published.
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- Stage 02
Leaves your computer
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Signed transaction
Sent to peers only after you approve a payment.
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Address filter
Lets peers find your transactions. It can reveal which addresses are yours.
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- Stage 03
Visible to others
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Connected peers
See your IP address and the filter you send.
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Public blockchain
Records amounts and addresses permanently.
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Private keys never move past stage one. Everything in stage three should be treated as public, even though only you approve what leaves.
Protecting what stays local
Mind where backups go
A wallet file copied to cloud storage or a shared drive is only as private as that service.
Avoid shared computers
Other accounts and software on the same machine may be able to read local files.
Who can learn what
Anyone reading the blockchain
Amounts, addresses, and how payments link together. Not your name, unless an address is tied to you elsewhere.
Connected peers
Your IP address and, through the filter, a hint about which addresses belong to you.
People you pay or who pay you
At least one of your addresses, and from it, that address’s full history.
Someone with access to your computer
Your wallet file. Without the password, its keys stay encrypted.
Practical habits
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01Use a new address each time
MultiBit offers a fresh receiving address per request. Reusing an address links every payment to it.
Limits how much one address reveals
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02Keep addresses off public profiles
A published address connects your identity to its complete history on the blockchain.
Separates identity from payment history
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03Consider your network
Built-in Tor routing is still in progress on the roadmap. Until then, a system-level VPN or Tor setup can hide your IP address from peers.
Reduces what peers learn about you
The privacy boundary
Local signing keeps private keys off the network, but it does not make a Bitcoin payment private. The transaction record remains public and peer connections expose network information.
Private signing material
Keys and recovery material authorize spending. They belong in private storage, not in a transaction or a support message.
Keep on your side of the boundary
Public transaction record
A signed payment reveals addresses, amounts, and transaction links. Someone who knows an address may connect its activity to an identity.
Public ledger · local keys are not anonymity
Put your backup habits into practice
Keep recovery material separate and understand what a backup protects.