# Aleo & Zero Knowledge By [Nataliiiiii](https://paragraph.com/@iamcryptogirl) · 2024-02-28 --- This article has a technical bias and its purpose is to tell you what technology the project brings to the web3 world and what problems it solves. In it, I will try to talk about difficult things in simple language. **Aleo** is a blockchain that will serve as a platform for creating high-performance, secure and anonymous web applications. Aleo provides an application runtime environment that allows your software to compile, execute, and terminate its processes autonomously. **What exactly does Aleo do?** Aleo is focused on **Zero-knowledge proofs technology**. Zero—knowledge proof is a method in which one party can prove (prover — PROVER) to the other party (VERIFIER — VERIFIER) without disclosing the disclosure of the secret itself. In other words, we can say that the zero-knowledge proof protocol allows one party, usually called the Prover, to convince the other party, called the Verifier, that the Prover knows some facts (secret, theorem proving...) without revealing them to the Verifier. ANY information about his knowledge (secret, evidence,...). ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5a4a13324fd56304963bb1fbb0e6fb46e923439d78656dcbfcffc564f986adb7.png) Example: Antonio is 26 years old, he came to the bar to order alcoholic drinks, the bartender asks for him passport to check his age. ZK-Proofs uses algorithms to prove that Antonio is 26 years old, without revealing the basic evidence or "input data" necessary to confirm the truth of this statement. **What problems does Zero-Knowledge technology solve?** First of all, it will reduce the transfer of a large amount of unnecessary information to third parties. It will allow third parties to verify information while protecting personal data. That is, with the help of ZK-Proofs, the bartender will be able to verify that Antonio is 26 years old without knowing his other data (last name, where he was born, etc.). That is, zero-knowledge proof is not complete anonymity, but only partial anonymity. **zkSNARK** is short for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge". As the name suggests, ZK stands for “zero disclosure” and SNARK stands for “a brief non—interactive disclosure argument". That's what it means: Zero-Knowledge: If the statement is true, the Prover will not know anything except that the statement is true. Succint: Indicates that the zero-knowledge proof can be verified quickly. This applies to evidence with large statements. Non-Interactive: (non-interactive ) This means that the Prover does not need to interact with the Verifier to confirm the zero-knowledge proof. Instead, the Verifier can publish his proof in advance, and the Prover can make sure that it is true. Argument: (Argument) The proof will confirm the validity of zero-knowledge encryption and uses limited calculations. Knowledge (Knowledge or Database): A proof cannot be constructed without access to a witness (private data necessary to prove a claim). Why is this important? There is no private personal data today. There is a situation in the world in which in order to interact with the service, you need to give it a lot of personal data. These companies use our data to earn money by promoting their services/advertising, etc. There are also risks of leakage of our data, and this, as practice shows, is a frequent occurrence. **Where can Zero-Knowledge technology be used?** There can be a lot of applications in real life. In any service where they want to check something for you, most often you give away unnecessary information about yourself. **A digital passport.** If someone needs to check your age, they can do it without knowing anything superfluous. (For example, at the checkout in the store you will be asked for a document confirming your age). **Driver's license.** If you are stopped by a traffic police inspector to check your license. **KYC** (Know Your Customer) “Know your customer ", you can check your data without revealing anything superfluous. **AML** — Anti Money Laundering is a system that includes measures to combat money laundering. You can check the “purity“ of receiving your funds without disclosing other data. **Digital property.** It can be purchased without disclosing information. **Private social networks**. You can build a social network on top of Aleo and make messages between users private. **Private payments.** Unlike traditional payment structures, which are visible to many parties, ZK-protected blockchain technology can confirm transactions without having to verify the underlying transaction data. The mission of Aleo Aleo's mission is to give developers the opportunity to create truly private applications. Aleo offers a new approach to the ownership of your data, with the help of zero-knowledge proof technology, other business models and processes may appear. **Official links:** * Website ~ [https://www.aleo.org/](https://www.aleo.org/) * Twitter ~ [https://twitter.com/AleoHQ](https://twitter.com/AleoHQ) * Community Twitter ~ [https://twitter.com/aleocommunity](https://twitter.com/aleocommunity) * GitHub ~ [https://github.com/AleoHQ](https://github.com/AleoHQ) * Community Forum — [https://community.aleo.org/](https://community.aleo.org/) * Community Calendar ~ [https://www.aleo.org/community/calendar](https://www.aleo.org/community/calendar) * YouTube — [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS\_HKT2heOC\_q88YQLiJt0g](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS_HKT2heOC_q88YQLiJt0g) * Developer Documentation ~ [https://developer.aleo.org/](https://developer.aleo.org/) * Leo Playground ~ [https://play.leo-lang.org/](https://play.leo-lang.org/) * Aleo Block Explorer ~ [https://www.aleo.network/](https://www.aleo.network/) * Community Blog ~ [https://medium.com/@AleoHQ](https://medium.com/@AleoHQ) * Announcements Blog ~ [https://www.aleo.org/blog](https://www.aleo.org/blog) --- *Originally published on [Nataliiiiii](https://paragraph.com/@iamcryptogirl/aleo-zero-knowledge)*