Public & Private Data Storage
The Public & Private Data Storage DApp could be seen as a combination of blockchains’ NFT technology and modern cloud storage services, but without each of their inherent problems.
Users can store files on the trustnet either publicly (and unencrypted) or privately (and encrypted). ‘Public’ is particularly useful to publish content in a censorship-resistant way, or to prove ownership of a digital asset. ‘Private’, on the other hand, is primarily for safekeeping personal digital files on the trustnet.
Both public and private files are stored exclusively on the user’s Trust-Nodes and are automatically replicated between these Trust-Nodes. Only the fingerprint (hash) of the files is sent to the entire network.
Of course, nodes other than the Trust-Nodes may also store public data if they wish. To do so, they can always ask the respective Trust-Nodes for the desired data. If none of the Trust-Nodes are willing or able to provide a public digital asset (e.g. file, smart contract, etc.), they will be blacklisted as in the case of fraudulent behaviour. In this unlikely case, the requesting node can broadcast a public digital asset request to the entire network. Any node in the network that has backed up that asset can supply it to the requesting node. It is highly unlikely that public digital assets will ever be lost, as there will always be some form of archival nodes (data greedy nodes) that will store as many assets as possible.
This solves the storage problem faced by current blockchain technologies, which has recently led to many heated debates in the Bitcoin community. The use of NFTs and other data embeddings in blockchains accelerate the expansion of the already ever-increasing size of these blockchains. This, in turn, negatively affects the storage demands of nodes, which could ultimately hinder decentralisation in the long term.
Compared to blockchain-based solutions, there is no storage limit on a trustnet. This means that users can easily store large files such as videos on the trustnet. Users are given a free storage quota by their Trust-Nodes. If they want to store more data than is included in the free quota, they can purchase additional storage from their Trust-Nodes, which is automatically charged on a monthly basis (via a smart contract), similar to centralised cloud storage services. The same applies to DApps, which are charged for hosting on an on-demand basis. This payment model is similar to traditional cloud services and is designed to ensure that operators are not left to foot the bill, but are able to easily scale their nodes as demand increases.
Another problem with permissionless data storage on blockchains is that users can perpetuate illicit or similarly problematic content on the blockchain. This is a dangerous attack vector on blockchains. To counter this, and in particular to avoid operators coming into conflict with local legislation and/or their personal beliefs, it is necessary for them to be able to prohibit uses and content categories on their nodes. Of course, this is also because node owners have the right to freely decide what kind of uses and content they want to allow on their nodes, similar to miners in the Bitcoin network. This increases the willingness to participate in the network as operators are able to align the use of their node(s) with their personal beliefs and local laws. It also reduces the likelihood of governments putting pressure on operators, or even imposing a blanket ban on participation in the operation of the network, if operators in that country abide by its laws.
Contrary to initial expectations, this feature does not facilitate censorship, but rather hinders it. This is because more individuals, organisations and businesses can and will participate, making the network more decentralised. And the more operators a trustnet has, the harder it is to suppress information. In a highly decentralised network (with many thousands of nodes distributed around the world), there will always be operators who allow content that the majority of operators prohibit.
Consider a scenario similar to WikiLeaks, where confidential government documents are leaked. To prevent any legal issues with the government, the node operators in that country can add such content to their list of prohibited uses and content categories. This ensures that their nodes do not store such sensitive data. However, most nodes in other countries can store the data without any problem as they do not face any legal consequences. This also applies to DApps.
It is also worth noting that the prohibited uses and content categories are limited to DApps and public digital assets. This is because private files are encrypted and only the owner of these files knows and has access to their contents.
If a trustee becomes aware of, and can prove, a violation of any of its prohibited uses and content categories, the aggrieved trustee has the right to take the following three actions against the user:
- Remove all of this account’s content from their node
- Take over all funds in the corresponding account
- Blacklist the user on all their nodes
The full process and safeguards of this special arrangement are more complex than what is described here, which we will cover in more detail in the white paper.
In summary, a trustnet can provide an elegant solution to the two primary challenges associated with storing data in decentralised networks - blockchain bloat and the storage of illicit content on all nodes.