Is this zero-knowledge? Two meanings, one honest answer

Short version: two different things share the name "zero-knowledge." We are built on one of them, we do not use the other, and our product language is self-custody for your data so nobody has to guess which one we mean.

The two meanings

Zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-SNARKs, ZK-STARKs and friends) are a cryptographic protocol family: a way to prove a statement is true without revealing the underlying data. They power some blockchain scaling and privacy systems. OrangeRails does not use zero-knowledge proofs.

Zero-knowledge architecture is the password-manager sense of the word, the one Bitwarden, 1Password, and Proton built their reputations on: the operator stores only ciphertext it cannot decrypt, because the keys are derived from secrets only the user holds. This is the idea OrangeRails is built on.

Why we say "self-custody for your data" instead

Bitcoiners already own the strongest version of this concept: not your keys, not your coins. We apply the same principle to your financial data: not your keys, not your data, for anyone, including us.

The guarantee is mechanical, not promissory:

• Credentials are encrypted in your browser with a key derived from your password (Argon2id). Our server stores ciphertext only.
• Stealth Sync matches your wallet against public block data entirely in your browser and seals the results before upload. The server stores sealed bytes it cannot open.
• The code is public (Apache 2.0), so none of this needs to be taken on trust.

We even removed a convenience feature because it required our server to momentarily handle plaintext. When convenience and the guarantee conflict, the guarantee wins.

See it work

The interactive demo at orangerails.app/demo shows the whole flow with sample data, no wallet needed.