Zcash shielded transactions use private notes instead of publicly visible UTXOs, but that does not make every Zcash payment private. What a transaction reveals depends on its sender and recipient addresses, whether value stays within one shielded pool or crosses a pool boundary, and the wallet’s transaction policy.
What is the difference between a Zcash t-address and z-address?
A transparent address, or t-address, participates in Zcash’s transparent transaction system. Its funds are represented as unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs). A shielded address, commonly called a z-address, can receive shielded funds represented as notes. The official Zcash Payment API documents the different payment mechanisms: transparent transfers can use Bitcoin-compatible RPC calls, while payments involving shielded addresses use Zcash-specific RPC calls.
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Those labels describe address and transaction types, not a guarantee that a whole payment is private. A transaction involving a transparent address can expose participant details, and moving value between shielded pools can reveal its amount.
How does a shielded transaction work?
At a high level, a shielded spend consumes one or more existing notes and creates new notes for recipients or change. The network checks that the transaction is valid without treating every note as a publicly listed UTXO. The result is privacy for parts of the transaction, not invisibility for all its details.
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What can different Zcash transaction paths reveal?
| Path | How funds are represented | Privacy boundary to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Transparent to transparent | Transparent UTXOs | Transparent addresses and transaction details are not shielded. |
| Within one shielded pool | Shielded notes spent and new notes created | A wallet’s privacy policy may allow a fully shielded transaction within a single pool. |
| Across shielded pools | Value moves from one pool to another | Cross-pool transfers can reveal the transaction amount; Orchard’s specification explicitly warns about this boundary. |
| Shielded to transparent, or transparent to shielded | Shielded notes and transparent UTXOs are combined in the payment path | A transparent participant exposes additional transaction details; wallet policy may permit or restrict that path. |
The distinction between pools matters even when both sides are described as shielded. Sapling and Orchard are separate pools, and Orchard forms a separate anonymity set from Sapling and Sprout. A new pool starts with no notes, so pool migration and cross-pool activity are relevant to the privacy context. See the Orchard Shielded Protocol specification for its pool and value-balance rules.
Can a Zcash transaction reveal the amount?
Yes. Orchard notes can only be spent as Orchard notes. When value enters or leaves Orchard, the transaction represents that movement through the valueBalanceOrchard field. The Orchard specification warns that spending Orchard funds to a non-Orchard address reveals the transaction value. A wallet should explain that disclosure rather than imply that an Orchard-related payment is private in every respect.
The same practical caution applies to transactions that involve transparent recipients or senders: a shielded-capable wallet can still create a payment path with transparent participants or cross-pool amount disclosure. Check the wallet’s transaction summary and privacy explanation before approving a payment, rather than relying on the address label alone.
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A Unified Address can bundle multiple receiver types, including Orchard. Orchard payment addresses do not have a standalone string encoding; they are used through a receiver in a Unified Address. Mainnet Unified Addresses have a u1 human-readable prefix. The Orchard Book’s keys and addresses documentation describes this address design.
A Unified Address can therefore offer receiver options, but its appearance does not by itself tell you which transaction path a wallet will choose. The wallet’s selected receiver, available funds, and policy determine how the payment is constructed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which wallet privacy policies should users understand?
The Zcash 6.12.2 z_sendmany RPC documentation defines several transaction policies. These are RPC options, not controls guaranteed to appear in every Zcash wallet.
FullPrivacypermits fully shielded transactions involving a single shielded value pool.AllowRevealedAmountspermits transfers that cross shielded pools, where amounts may be revealed.- Transparent-sender and transparent-recipient options allow transaction paths that disclose additional participant details.
AllowFullyTransparentpermits transparent inputs and outputs.LegacyCompatbehaves differently depending on whether a Unified Address is involved.
These policy names help explain why “the wallet supports shielded addresses” is not the same as “this transaction is fully shielded.” Look for the specific source and destination types, pool transitions, and disclosures shown for the payment you are about to make.
What happens to shielded change?
The Zcash RPC documentation says that change from a Unified Address is returned to the internal-only address associated with that account. More generally, a shielded change address does not need to be publicly distinguishable from a recipient address: ZIP 32 explains, “Shielded addresses are never publicly visible in transactions, which means that sending change back to the originating address is indistinguishable from using a change address.” Read the ZIP 32 shielded wallet specification for the address-derivation context.
There is a special RPC behavior for coinbase UTXOs: when spending them through z_sendmany, only shielded recipients are permitted, change is not allowed, and the full value must be consumed. This is a documented RPC implementation rule, not a general description of how every wallet handles every payment.
What should you check before sending?
- Confirm whether the sender and recipient are transparent addresses, shielded receivers, or Unified Addresses.
- Check whether value will remain in one shielded pool or cross a pool boundary.
- Read the wallet’s transaction summary for any disclosed amount or participant details.
- Do not assume an RPC privacy policy is available under the same name in your wallet; wallet interfaces and defaults can differ.
The lightwallet protocol schema also enumerates an Ironwood pool, but that schema entry alone does not establish Ironwood’s consensus specification or Mainnet activation status. It should not be treated as confirmation that Ironwood is deployed on Mainnet.
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