# Permissioned Viewing Permissioned viewing is entirely unique to Secret Network with its encrypted state. It gives you ability to have precise control over who has access to what data. In order to determine when data is allowed to be released however, you need to have a way to prove who is trying to access it. Our two ways of doing this are through Viewing Keys and Permits/Certs. ## How To Choose Between Viewing Keys and Permits With the new Shockwave alpha update, Permits have become more efficient in almost every application. The exception is inter-contract communication permissions. Here, viewing keys still hold a lead. However, in some cases you may want to include an option to use both in your smart contract and leave the decision up to the users. Some users will have a preference for one over the other. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.scrt.network/secret-network-documentation/development/development-concepts/permissioned-viewing.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.