Address Types¶
ZecVault supports all Zcash address formats. Understanding what each type exposes — and when to use it — is key to managing your financial privacy.
Overview¶
| Address | Prefix | Privacy | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unified (Orchard + Sapling) | u1... |
Shielded | Default — use this for everything |
| Orchard-only unified | u1... |
Shielded | Maximum forward privacy |
| Sapling | zs1... |
Shielded | Compatibility with older wallets |
| Transparent | t1... |
Public | Exchanges, legacy systems only |
Unified Addresses (ZIP-316)¶
A Unified Address is a single address string that bundles multiple receiver types. When a sender's wallet pays a Unified Address, it automatically picks the best pool it supports:
- If the sender supports Orchard → funds land in your Orchard pool
- If the sender only supports Sapling → funds land in your Sapling pool
- If the sender only supports transparent → funds land in your transparent address (if one is included in the Unified Address)
ZecVault's default Unified Address includes Orchard + Sapling receivers — no transparent receiver. This means you always receive into a shielded pool, even from wallets that haven't upgraded to Orchard yet.
Orchard-only Unified Address¶
An Orchard-only Unified Address contains only an Orchard receiver. Senders without Orchard support cannot pay it — they'll get an error.
Use this when: - You want to ensure funds always land in Orchard (highest privacy) - You know the sender's wallet supports Orchard - You don't want a Sapling fallback
Available in Expert address mode (Settings → Advanced).
Sapling address (zs1...)¶
Sapling addresses are fully shielded but use an older format. They're supported by virtually all Zcash wallets and exchanges that support shielded transactions.
Use this when:
- You're interacting with a wallet or service that specifically requires a zs1 address
- The sender's software doesn't support Unified Addresses
Note
Sapling addresses still offer strong on-chain privacy — amounts and participants are hidden. The difference from Orchard is the proving system, not the privacy level.
Transparent address (t1...)¶
Transparent addresses are fully public — identical in privacy properties to Bitcoin addresses. All transactions to/from a transparent address are visible on blockchain explorers.
Use transparent addresses only when: - An exchange or service requires it (many centralized exchanges only send to transparent addresses) - You're interacting with a legacy system that doesn't support shielded addresses
Always shield after receiving
If you receive ZEC to a transparent address, shield it immediately using Send → Shield funds in ZecVault. Once shielded to Orchard, the funds are private and indistinguishable from other shielded ZEC.
Expert address mode¶
By default, ZecVault shows only your Unified Address on the Receive screen. Enable Expert address mode in Settings → Advanced to display all address types and to access advanced send options (choose which pool to spend from, shield to Sapling instead of Orchard, etc.).
One wallet, all addresses¶
All address types — Unified, Orchard, Sapling, transparent — derive from the same seed phrase and receive into the same wallet account. You don't need a separate wallet for each type. ZecVault tracks balances separately per pool and displays them on the dashboard.