A method and system for a fair exchange of user information over a network is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: transmitting over the network the user information encoded in association with a hidden value selected as one of a plurality of values distributed in a sequence wherein a difference between adjacent ones of said values increases and decreases symmetrically about one of the values of a known order; transmitting over said network a first set of the values and a last value in the sequence, wherein the values in said first set have increasing differences between adjacent ones of the values; and transmitting, individually, and in response to receipt of the other user's values, the remaining values in said sequence.