# Shielding

**Please note, as of 6 November 2023, new shields have an Unshield-Only Standby Period of 1 hour. During this period, the only available action will be to unshield back to the original shielding address. This is due to the** [**Private Proof of Innocence**](https://help.railway.xyz/private-proofs-of-innocence) **system.**

Shielding transfers tokens from a public 0x address to a private 0zk address. When shielding, the 0zk address is completely private and never appears on the blockchain.

Once in a 0zk address, your funds are completely sealed from public view and no one can see what you do or what you hold. To read more about RAILGUN privacy, check out this [article](https://medium.com/@Railgun_Project/what-is-crypto-privacy-how-railgun-can-help-7-privacy-tips-for-dank-degens-cce294c6fc70).

From a 0zk address, users can send, swap, and interact with DeFi privately. 

For an alternative to Shielding through Railway Wallet, you can send funds to any 0zk address with [**https://tokenshielder.com**](https://tokenshielder.com).

### Shielding Tokens into a 0zk Address

1. **Click the token you would like to Shield**. *It's recommended to first Shield the networks base token or stablecoins like DAI or USDC to pay Broadcaster fees for private transactions.*

<figure><img src="https://3741015441-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqFRXmTLdvAfIvul1HRIh%2Fuploads%2Fm2Ka56gR5tmyJIlPh2Td%2FScreenshot_1_Extra.png?alt=media&#x26;token=d48b49ea-f5e6-4b5f-854c-e571cdde2040" alt="" width="366"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

2. From here you can easily send Public transactions, view your address/receive QR code, and Shield tokens into Railgun. **Click "Shield" to continue**.

<figure><img src="https://3741015441-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqFRXmTLdvAfIvul1HRIh%2Fuploads%2FpUdo2HqNC3d0F0FN9xBE%2FScreenshot_2_Extra.png?alt=media&#x26;token=cc9f1582-4d05-4ccf-89e5-37adf132f97c" alt="" width="367"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

3. RAILGUN supports Shielding to any 0zk address. **Copy and paste a 0zk address into the "Recipient" box OR click "Select" to Shield to a saved address to continue.**

<figure><img src="https://3741015441-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqFRXmTLdvAfIvul1HRIh%2Fuploads%2FzW2sVaPiUWaHpqp9jd3p%2FScreenshot_3.png?alt=media&#x26;token=2e3b09e8-2ef0-4f17-8e6f-5cc5fa28ce21" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

4. We will shield tokens to the 0zk address associated with ***"My Wallet"***
5. Enter the amount of tokens you want to Shield and **click "Confirm amount".**

<figure><img src="https://3741015441-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqFRXmTLdvAfIvul1HRIh%2Fuploads%2FFMFKS4bdwXNyADEFbaf7%2FScreenshot_3_1.png?alt=media&#x26;token=c156bcbd-1e60-4c4b-8ce5-992e747e719c" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

6. **Shielding the base token of a given network will auto-convert to the wrapped version**, WMATIC for this example.&#x20;

<figure><img src="https://3741015441-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqFRXmTLdvAfIvul1HRIh%2Fuploads%2FsZYG7topApYjr2HLS63J%2FScreenshot_4.png?alt=media&#x26;token=bb6ac864-6f21-4c2d-a91c-6656d9b7f357" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

7. **Click "Next" and enter your password**.
8. Here you can view a summary of the Shielding transaction and fees paid (0.25%). **To set a custom gas price click the "Network Fee" bar** to see available options for fees. **Click "Shield" to submit the transaction**.

<figure><img src="https://3741015441-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqFRXmTLdvAfIvul1HRIh%2Fuploads%2FxBo7brzhucpMhP0WNliA%2FScreenshot_5.png?alt=media&#x26;token=cbe7c1f7-8585-418c-9200-7ec8585a6bac" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

9. Navigate to your Private balance by **clicking the "Private" button** in the top right to view your freshly Shielded tokens.

<figure><img src="https://3741015441-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqFRXmTLdvAfIvul1HRIh%2Fuploads%2FVd9ohZ8sdT4cD27IeZub%2FScreenshot_6.png?alt=media&#x26;token=97882065-b678-45c4-ba15-d8107a302501" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Further Info

All transaction costs can be paid with wrapped base network tokens or stablecoins, so you do not need to keep a private balance of ETH, BNB or MATIC for private transactions.

If this is your first time using Railway Wallet, it's a good idea to Unshield some of the base network token (ETH/BNB/MATIC) to a **fresh 0x address** to assist with [**Self-Broadcasting**](https://help.railway.xyz/transactions/self-signing) as a backup to the Broadcaster network.