Reclaim Protocol: Making HTTPS Traffic Verifiable with ZK-TLS
Sriharsha Karamchati
Abstract:
Today most websites use HTTPS to encrypt traffic, yet the data inside these secure sessions cannot be independently verified once it reaches the user. In this talk we introduce ZK TLS, a cryptographic method that lets users turn their own HTTPS session data into proofs that are private, tamper proof, and selective. Reclaim Protocol, an open-source project, already powering real world deployments, enables anyone to generate such proofs from any site without needing permission or API access.
These proofs can be shared with third party apps or services to confirm facts such as income, identity, or reputation while keeping sensitive details hidden. This unlocks new cryptographic and business primitives such as portable proofs of trust, reputation, or user history that were not possible before. The talk explains how ZK TLS works at a technical level, how it is used in production settings, and how it opens fresh opportunities for secure and privacy preserving applications.
Bio:
Harsha is the co-founder of Reclaim Protocol, a YC-backed company building cryptographic infrastructure for verifiable data on the internet and delivering thousands of proofs every day. He earned a Master’s by Research in computer security and algorithmic research from IIIT Hyderabad, with publications in internet architecture. Prior to Reclaim he founded Questbook, an on-chain grants tool used by protocols like Compound, where he also helped set up the grants program. His work bridges academic research, real-world systems, and applied cryptography.