Frequently Asked Questions


  • How does HIBK work?

    A request is made to Blockstream’s Esplora API to get recent transactions for your address. A response with JSON data for those transactions on the bitcoin blockchain is received. A privacy analysis script runs in your browser to identify any ‘privacy gotchas’ in the transactions.

  • Is HIBK tracking me?

    No. HIBK is a static website hosted on Github Pages so there is no server side processing. API requests, responses, and privacy analysis all take place locally in your browser. No tracking scripts. Everything is open source on GitHub.

  • What is HIBK promoting?

    You will notice there are no reflinks or affiliate links, nor is there any advertising present on HIBK, and there never will be. At most, some merchandise may be offered through a separate online store linked to from the menu at some point in future. The intent of HIBK is to promote proper privacy practices that protect the fungibility of bitcoin.

  • Why does HIBK link to certain exchanges?

    Exchanging bitcoins for other coins - or what is referred to as ‘Chain Hopping’ - is one method of obfuscating coins for privacy. Exchanges linked to by HIBK are non-KYC exchanges bst suited to such use-cases.

  • What is Have I Been Known?

    HIBK checks your bitcoin address for transactions with ‘privacy gotchas’ that make them more likely to be known to surveillance. Based on the results you are matched with relevant obfuscation resources that can help improve your bitcoin privacy.

  • How do I use HIBK?

    Simply paste a BTC address into the search bar and click the search icon or hit enter. HIBK will check recent transactions on your address for ‘privacy gotchas’ and alert you to them, along with relevant resources for obfuscation and better privacy.

  • What do you define as Sound Money?

    Sound money should be verifiable, fungible, portable, durable, divisible, and scarce, in order to serve as a unit of account, medium of exchange and store of value. Bitcoin is considered a form of Sound Money, but its fungibility is threatened by blockchain surveillance.

    Philosophically speaking, it’s an instrument for the protection of civil liberties against despotic inroads on the part of governments.

  • What exactly is fungibility?

    In economics, a good or commodity is considered fungible when its individual units are equally interchangeable, and each of its parts is indistinguishable from another part.

    The common adage ‘one bitcoin equals one bitcoin’ is often used as a representation of bitcoin’s supposed fungibility.

  • Who are the Big Brothers of Blockchain?

    Chainalysis, Cipertrace, Elliptic, Coinfirm, Neutrino, Crystal Blockchain, Blockseer, Scorechain, Blockchain Intel, Comply Advantage, and many more lucrative government contract holders.

  • Who provides your blockchain data?

    We use the Esplora API from Blockstream and our privacy analysis JavaScript is taken from their open source block explorer.

  • What is your Privacy Policy?

    We do not collect any personal information or track website visitors. API requests, responses, and privacy analyses take place locally in your browser.

  • Do you have an RSS feed?

    Yes, here’s the direct link: haveibeenknown.com/feed.xml

  • Have any addresses I could test with?

    Sure thing. There’s been some people concerned that HIBK could be acting against them. So here are some test addresses you can use. Be sure to check the source code and use dev tools console in your browser to see there’s no tracking whatsoever.

    • Issues: bc1q45nllceqc4ukqt9fah36ym74gq9germ9vwzarff6mtwg64q0kynqnxn44g
    • Not bitcoin: 0x1A6b9aA9DE8AcB03d239E006a7C1eEf3B7AD269E
    • No issues: 1JXRQgVkpcnQB85hgRafXiEobKaD2NohN8