Architecture

Learn how ZK Email's architecture combines email verification and zero-knowledge proofs for trustless, private validation of email contents on blockchains, utilizing existing email infrastructure.

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ZK Email adds new capabilities to existing email infrastructure by using the DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) signatures. By integrating zero-knowledge proofs, our ZK Email system authenticates DKIM signatures and validates specific email content properties without exposing the entire email, thereby ensuring both security and privacy.

This approach unlocks a wide range of applications in both Web2 and Web3 environments, from secure identity verification to confidential information sharing, all while preserving the privacy and integrity of email communications.

Explore ZK Email Architecture

To gain a comprehensive understanding of each component, dive into the following topics:

📄️ DKIM Verification

Learn how ZK Email uses DKIM for trustless email verification.

📄️ Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Explore the role of zero-knowledge proofs to verify emails.

📄️ On-chain Integration

Discover how ZK Email enables trustless blockchain verification.

📄️ Security Considerations

Explore the trust assumptions and security measures in ZK Email.

How It Works

To simplify understanding, here's a diagram illustrating the core workflow of ZK Email:

1. Email Receipt:

   • The user receives an email from a sender that is signed using DKIM.

2. Proof Generation:

   • The user extracts necessary parts of the email (headers, body hash).
   • A zero-knowledge proof is generated on the client side, verifying the DKIM signature and specific email properties without revealing sensitive content.
     info

     Note: The proof generation can be performed by the user, by ZK Email servers, or by their own servers, depending on their preferences for privacy and computational resources.

3. Proof Submission:

   • The user submits the ZK proof to a smart contract on the blockchain.

4. On-chain Verification:

   • The smart contract verifies the proof using the sender's DKIM public key from the on-chain registry.
   • The proof confirms the email's authenticity and the specified properties.

This process ensures that email verification is trustless and privacy-preserving, leveraging existing email infrastructure without the need for centralized intermediaries.