After years of using centralized exchanges and going through KYC checks, I've realized how much personal info is out there. For those of us who've been in this situation, is there really a way back to privacy?
What steps should someone take to regain their privacy? Is it even possible to fix this situation?
The truth about leaving your coins on centralized exchanges is that no matter the level of KYC verifications you think you might have undergone, it still doesn't give you full control over those assets, despite the fact that those verification might prevent your account from been hacked by third parties. So in a nutshell, if you wants full privacy of your Bitcoin asset, it's best and advisable you opts into saving your coins on non custodial wallets where you owned the private keys and have absolute full control over all assets in it. But however, if your intention of holding the Bitcoin is short term, you might consider leaving it on exchange wallets, but if it's long term, then non custodial wallets is the best e.g Electrum, Blue Wallet and Unstoppable wallet for both Bitcoin and altcoins.
There is undeniably some non-reversible damage. But, it is still possible to regain some privacy by selling whatever bitcoin you bought recently from a centralized exchange, back to it, get fiat, and buy the same bitcoin from a decentralized exchange like Bisq.
This way you will have erased the history, and chain analysis tracing will stop there.
I understand and share in your concern, OP because it's not as if those personal information can be deleted when we stop doing transactions or use newer CEX platforms.
However one thing am aware about is that privacy is more of a commitment to the discipline in practice and this being said, means that you can from henceforth, start a new life of privacy and regain your control, if you can separate your public or KYC life from your private/cold storage life.
Firstly, get a new wallet with new seed phrases thus severing yourself from your old wallets. Then you progress to using VPN tools to disguise IP address, there's also going to be the need to start using something like a monero bridge to wipe off history of amount of coins transacted.
Lastly, using the idea of a good email aliases services like Addy.io or Proton Mail aliases for any new sign-ups, would add up to make a great set up for practical privacy improvement.
Visit these links to get better information on the future of improvement of your privacy:
https://www.markets.com/news/crypto-privacy-tips-2025-2944-en?hl=en-US
https://www.bytefederal.com/byteu/academy/articles/bitcoin-privacy-techniques?hl=en-US
https://www.webopedia.com/crypto/exchanges/best-no-kyc-crypto-exchanges/?hl=en-US
The answer is no. The only thing we can do is trust the exchange where we've placed our data. For example, if we've verified KYC on the website, then privacy is automatically a mere lie. We'll simply be given full access to the exchange, but that comes at the expense of the personal data the exchange already holds. It's simply a matter of whether the exchange is responsible for safeguarding our data, or whether it has truly lost the trust of all its users.
If by "mess" you mean your personal information that you left on various centralized services, then, I think no. You cannot "un-KYC" yourself. Once a centralized exchange has your passport and a selfie, that data exists forever in a databases you dont control.
I will always acknowledge that their is no privacy on the internet, as long as you have done one or two things that has to do with online, your footprint is out there, if we seek privacy or to erase our prints online? Whats the purpose? Is it because you plan to commit a crime that will lead to you being untraceable? Or create an innovation that is untraceable, well you can still erase yourself from the internet space like satoshi did, but however if you have bought through CEX there is no need to try to clean up the trace except you did something bad but however you can also change from using CEX to DEX, hence your old trace though the uploaded ID might end at the last thing you did with the CEX, but however, do not have it in mind that with the use of CEx you are not traceable thats false, its a public ledger and transactions are public things can still lead back to you at any given time.
Good question. Hahaha. If you are really concerned with it, which for sure always bothers you now, in my own opinion, to answer your question.
Just don't mind your past if you did such things on centralized exchanges or any platforms, just continue to practice privacy from now on because you don't have any access on those, you can't delete those already even if you asked these centralized exhcanges.
It's as simple as breaking a chain that connects any crypto asset to you. Yes definitely it may seem difficult at some point, but if you some how manage to empty all wallets that had been tied to the coins you purchased using centralized exchanges then it may be possible. All you have to do is get a self custodian wallet, use some privacy tools to clean your coins and send the clean coins to your new wallet. This way, you have increased your privacy by certain percentage, and there literally will be no chance of linking them back to you. But considering all these procedures that normally would come at some cost, people would be lenient to clean up their tracks and increase privacy..
All Privacies are broken on this note while users are only left physically undisclosed to the public except for the technical regulatory agencies who has the users datas.
As a user of such regulatory platforms, loosing the right to your wallets seed phrase as we know that No your key Not your Coin is also due to lose of Privacies, there absolutely no reliable safe tendency for the users, perhaps authorities can always seize the funds if they want to.
If you leave trace of your identity through the passing the KYCs, you will remain vulnerable as long as long you keep using the platform for your Bitcoin transactions.
That is why it is important, when choosing an exchange, to be mindful of the kind of exchange one uses for buying and selling. Many exchanges don't even care about privacy; they are more interested in getting more users to the platform.
I know there are completely decentralized exchanges, but there are exchanges that are still better for trading. The mistake some people make is that they don't research exchanges; all they want is an exchange that provides access for buying and selling.
Privacy is not forced on anyone, it is just only our responsibility that we should be able to learn and understand how we could emerge this, those who know about the procedures enjoy the benefits while those that doesn't know how they could maintain privacy in cryptocurrency and bitcoins specifically do not prevent themselves and their personal information from the influence of a centralized authority at any time.
Yes, it's not too late to start enhancing your privacy online. First do not use your other email address used to those kyc required platforms, always use new or separate email address for any specific stuff you're registering, as well as as make sure to stick to 1-2 CEX or only one, you can request to delete your data on the others. Change your DNS, use VPN if possible, if you're from Asia, use a vpn server the same to your country, use TOR if possible for websites that has TOR domains.
As well as choose platform that has no-kyc alternative if possible instead of going to kyc required platform first its very recommended.
If the platform where you submitted your privacy information agrees to delete all your credentials, that's good.
Try contacting support to see if they offer deletion of all credentials you submitted when you leave that exchange, but I think there's slim chance a centralized exchange will agree to that request. AFAIK, this request also makes them vulnerable and could expose their security.
That is why choosing an exchange that doesn't require KYC is the best choice.
Swapping exchange that don't have KYC/AML.
Better still if the exchange has Monero listed in it. Sell off the other coins for Monero. Move monero out in a noncustodial wallet and then off to a decentralized p2p exchange that supports monero and Bitcoin.
Exchange it for BTC that is then moved to a fresh Bitcoin address. That can help break the chain of getting traced.
It's like shooting yourself in the back, the damage you've done can't be undone. But the road to recovery is open. You can still work to keep yourself private by leaving the centralized CEX and maybe you'll succeed in that effort. But if you want your previously lost privacy back, that's impossible. Once you do KYC or give information to the centralized CEX, it can't be undone.
However, to create new privacy, first transfer your coins to a DEX, then convert them to Bitcoin and transfer them to a decentralized self-custody wallet and store them. You can use a VPN to hide your IP address for even more privacy.
Which mess are you referring to? In general, however, I'm afraid you can't completely erase the trail. Your face and name stay in the record. You can change your address, though. You can also change your phone number, close your bank account and open another, and so on.
As to your Bitcoin, there are privacy tools, or at least you can swap them to Monero, for example, via a non-KYC platform and back to Bitcoin directly into your non-custodial wallet.
The person can improve practice and change it from bad to better practice for his privacy. Improving his practice for better privacy is better than continuing with terrible practice and don't change anything.
However, what did badly in the past will stay and he only can hope that his past terrible practice won't knock his doors and ask him paying expensive costs. There are surely many risks from his past practice but he can not change the past and only can focus on what he does at the present and what he will do and will get in the future.
Bitcoin privacy resources. I remember that from the Lopp's resources, I used to read an article from some of linked sites at that page, with a title like "How to disappear in the USA (? I am not sure but perhaps in the USA). If you are interested in, you can dig into those linked sites and will find that article.
https://bitcoin.org/en/protect-your-privacy
https://bitcoiner.guide/privacy/
KYC, there are many reminders on risk with KYC.
Why KYC is extremely dangerous and useless.
Even if there is no way to clean the mess because doing too much KYC in so many platform and all the looming threat of it getting leaked, you still need privacy.
Just simple act of making sure nobody know your address could save you from danger of getting robbed, identified and being stalked.
So, yes. You will need privacy even if you've given away your identity for KYC in too many platform already. Nothing you can do about that at this point.
Since they have shared their personal information while submitting KYC, if the Centralize exchanges want to and there are no major legal complications, they can leak the information of their exchange users, meaning that you may be revealed as one of them, which is actually an irreparable loss. But people use Centralize exchanges to convert their cryptocurrencies into local currency, but this is where we make the biggest mistake.