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IPFS Bitswap Privacy Leak: Want-List Metadata

Interactive 3D simulation of the IPFS Bitswap protocol: watch want-list broadcasts reveal which content a peer is requesting to everyone in the swarm, and see how a private network (swarm.key) closes that metadata leak while public DHT publishing reopens it.

Cybersecurity3DModerate60 FPS

Details

CategoryCybersecurity

RenderingThree.js · WebGL

DifficultyModerate

Target FPS60

ControlsToggle between a public DHT swarm and a private swarm.key network, adjust trusted-peer count and auto want-list request rate with sliders, enable a public-DHT-publish checkbox, and fire manual content requests with a button while live readouts track connected peers, broadcasts, leaks, and privacy score.

ipfsp2pprivacydhtbitswapnetwork-security

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IPFS looks up files by content hash rather than server address, but that lookup itself carries a hidden cost: the Bitswap protocol broadcasts a "want-list" of the CIDs you are requesting to every peer you are directly connected to, and a DHT provider-record publish makes that same information globally queryable. This simulation renders a live 3D swarm — a requester, a ring of trusted peers, an eavesdropper, and the public DHT — and lets you toggle between a public swarm and a private, swarm.key-gated network, adjust swarm size and request rate, and separately enable public DHT publishing, watching a live privacy score track exactly how many of your requests were exposed and through which channel.

⚙ Under the hood

Interactive 3D simulation of the IPFS Bitswap protocol: watch want-list broadcasts reveal which content a peer is requesting to the swarm, then compare a public DHT network against a private swarm.key network and a public-DHT-publish toggle to see how each channel opens or closes the metadata leak.

ipfsp2pprivacydhtbitswapnetwork-security

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install