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Fixes #138: Clarified privacy impact of hub nodes

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Andreas M. Antonopoulos 2020-02-14 09:43:19 -06:00
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02_getting_started.asciidoc
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@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ In <<lnwallet-examples>> we see some examples of currently popular LN node and w
Lightning wallets have to strike a careful balance between complexity and user control. Those that give the user the most control over their funds, the highest degree of privacy, and the greatest independence from third party services are necessarily more complex and difficult to operate. As the technology advances, some of these trade-offs will become less stark, and users may be able to get more control without more complexity. However, for now, different companies and projects are exploring different positions along this control-complexity spectrum and hoping to find the "sweet spot" for the users they are targeting.
When selecting a wallet, keep in mind that even if you don't see these trade-offs, they still exist. For example, many wallets will attempt to remove the burden of channel management from its users. To do so, they introduce central "hub" nodes that their wallets all connect to automatically. While this trade-off simplifies the user interface and user experience, it introduces a Single Point of Failure (SPoF) and a potential privacy compromise, as these "hub nodes" become indispensable and can see all the user's transactions.
When selecting a wallet, keep in mind that even if you don't see these trade-offs, they still exist. For example, many wallets will attempt to remove the burden of channel management from its users. To do so, they introduce central "hub" nodes that their wallets all connect to automatically. While this trade-off simplifies the user interface and user experience, it introduces a Single Point of Failure (SPoF) as these "hub nodes" become indispensable for the wallet operation. Furthermore, relying on a "hub" like this can reduce user privacy, since the hub knows the sender and potentially (if constructing the payment route on behalf of the user) also the recipient of each payment made by the user's wallet.
In the next section, we will introduce our first user and walk through their first LN wallet setup. We have chosen a wallet that is more sophisticated than the easier custodial wallets. This is because we want to show some of the underlying complexity and introduce some of the inner workings of the wallet during our example. You may find that your first ideal wallet is further towards "ease of use", by accepting some of the control and privacy trade-offs. Or perhaps you are more of a "power user" and want to run your own LN and Bitcoin nodes as part of your wallet solution.