diff --git a/docs/introduction/howto.rst b/docs/introduction/howto.rst
index f6f386f40..1bbae3fa2 100644
--- a/docs/introduction/howto.rst
+++ b/docs/introduction/howto.rst
@@ -338,10 +338,14 @@ writing your own configuration file if needed.
 
         "bootstrap-peers": ["::1:10732", "::ffff:192.168.1.3:9733", "mynode.tezos.com"],
 
-        /* Specify if the network is closed or not. A closed network
-        allows only peers listed in "bootstrap-peers". */
+        /* Specify if the node is in private mode or not. A node in
+        private mode only opens outgoing connections to peers whose
+        addresses are in [trusted_peers] and only accepts incoming
+        connections from trusted peers. In addition, it informs these
+        peers that the identity of the node should not be revealed to
+        the rest of the network. */
 
-        "closed": false,
+        "private-mode": false,
 
         /* Network limits */
 
diff --git a/src/bin_node/node_config_file.ml b/src/bin_node/node_config_file.ml
index a8aedc750..2f6914e5c 100644
--- a/src/bin_node/node_config_file.ml
+++ b/src/bin_node/node_config_file.ml
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ and p2p = {
   expected_pow : float ;
   bootstrap_peers : string list ;
   listen_addr : string option ;
-  closed : bool ;
+  private_mode : bool ;
   limits : P2p.limits ;
   disable_mempool : bool ;
 }
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ let default_p2p = {
   expected_pow = 24. ;
   bootstrap_peers  = ["bootstrap.tezos.com"] ;
   listen_addr  = Some ("[::]:" ^ string_of_int default_p2p_port) ;
-  closed  = false ;
+  private_mode  = false ;
   limits = default_p2p_limits ;
   disable_mempool = false ;
 }
@@ -276,13 +276,13 @@ let p2p =
   let open Data_encoding in
   conv
     (fun { expected_pow ; bootstrap_peers ;
-           listen_addr ; closed ; limits ; disable_mempool } ->
+           listen_addr ; private_mode ; limits ; disable_mempool } ->
       ( expected_pow, bootstrap_peers,
-        listen_addr, closed, limits, disable_mempool ))
+        listen_addr, private_mode, limits, disable_mempool ))
     (fun ( expected_pow, bootstrap_peers,
-           listen_addr, closed, limits, disable_mempool ) ->
+           listen_addr, private_mode, limits, disable_mempool ) ->
       { expected_pow ; bootstrap_peers ;
-        listen_addr ; closed ; limits ; disable_mempool })
+        listen_addr ; private_mode ; limits ; disable_mempool })
     (obj6
        (dft "expected-proof-of-work"
           ~description: "Floating point number between 0 and 256 that represents a \
@@ -298,9 +298,15 @@ let p2p =
                          specified, the default port 8732 will be \
                          assumed."
           string)
-       (dft "closed"
-          ~description: "Specify if the network is closed or not. A closed network allows \
-                         only peers listed in 'bootstrap-peers'."
+       (dft "private-mode"
+          ~description: "Specify if the node is in private mode or \
+                         not. A node in private mode rejects incoming \
+                         connections from untrusted peers and only \
+                         opens outgoing connections to peers listed in \
+                         'bootstrap-peers' or provided with '--peer' \
+                         option. Moreover, these peers will keep the \
+                         identity and the address of the private node \
+                         secret."
           bool false)
        (dft "limits"
           ~description: "Network limits"
@@ -574,7 +580,7 @@ let update
     ?bootstrap_peers
     ?listen_addr
     ?rpc_listen_addr
-    ?(closed = false)
+    ?(private_mode = false)
     ?(disable_mempool = false)
     ?(cors_origins = [])
     ?(cors_headers = [])
@@ -624,7 +630,7 @@ let update
       Option.unopt ~default:cfg.p2p.bootstrap_peers bootstrap_peers ;
     listen_addr =
       Option.first_some listen_addr cfg.p2p.listen_addr ;
-    closed = cfg.p2p.closed || closed ;
+    private_mode = cfg.p2p.private_mode || private_mode ;
     limits ;
     disable_mempool = cfg.p2p.disable_mempool || disable_mempool ;
   }
diff --git a/src/bin_node/node_config_file.mli b/src/bin_node/node_config_file.mli
index 3553b5a55..8f4e3e902 100644
--- a/src/bin_node/node_config_file.mli
+++ b/src/bin_node/node_config_file.mli
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ and p2p = {
   expected_pow : float ;
   bootstrap_peers : string list ;
   listen_addr : string option ;
-  closed : bool ;
+  private_mode : bool ;
   limits : P2p.limits ;
   disable_mempool : bool ;
 }
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ val update:
   ?bootstrap_peers:string list ->
   ?listen_addr:string ->
   ?rpc_listen_addr:string ->
-  ?closed:bool ->
+  ?private_mode:bool ->
   ?disable_mempool:bool ->
   ?cors_origins:string list ->
   ?cors_headers:string list ->
diff --git a/src/bin_node/node_run_command.ml b/src/bin_node/node_run_command.ml
index cea7924c7..349555804 100644
--- a/src/bin_node/node_run_command.ml
+++ b/src/bin_node/node_run_command.ml
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ let init_node ?sandbox (config : Node_config_file.t) =
             trusted_points ;
             peers_file =
               (config.data_dir // "peers.json") ;
-            closed_network = config.p2p.closed ;
+            private_mode = config.p2p.private_mode ;
             identity ;
             proof_of_work_target =
               Crypto_box.make_target config.p2p.expected_pow ;
diff --git a/src/bin_node/node_shared_arg.ml b/src/bin_node/node_shared_arg.ml
index 5e0a095ba..aa98ddda3 100644
--- a/src/bin_node/node_shared_arg.ml
+++ b/src/bin_node/node_shared_arg.ml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ type t = {
   no_bootstrap_peers: bool ;
   listen_addr: string option ;
   rpc_listen_addr: string option ;
-  closed: bool ;
+  private_mode: bool ;
   disable_mempool: bool ;
   cors_origins: string list ;
   cors_headers: string list ;
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ let wrap
     data_dir config_file
     connections max_download_speed max_upload_speed binary_chunks_size
     peer_table_size
-    listen_addr peers no_bootstrap_peers bootstrap_threshold closed disable_mempool
+    listen_addr peers no_bootstrap_peers bootstrap_threshold private_mode disable_mempool
     expected_pow rpc_listen_addr rpc_tls
     cors_origins cors_headers log_output =
 
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ let wrap
     no_bootstrap_peers ;
     listen_addr ;
     rpc_listen_addr ;
-    closed ;
+    private_mode ;
     disable_mempool ;
     cors_origins ;
     cors_headers ;
@@ -209,10 +209,11 @@ module Term = struct
     Arg.(value & opt (some float) None &
          info ~docs ~doc ~docv:"FLOAT" ["expected-pow"])
 
-  let closed =
+  let private_mode =
     let doc =
-      "Only accept connections from the configured bootstrap peers." in
-    Arg.(value & flag & info ~docs ~doc ["closed"])
+      "Only open outgoing/accept incoming connections to/from peers \
+       listed in 'bootstrap-peers' or provided with '--peer' option." in
+    Arg.(value & flag & info ~docs ~doc ["private-mode"])
 
   let disable_mempool =
     let doc =
@@ -260,7 +261,8 @@ module Term = struct
     $ connections
     $ max_download_speed $ max_upload_speed $ binary_chunks_size
     $ peer_table_size
-    $ listen_addr $ peers $ no_bootstrap_peers $ bootstrap_threshold $ closed $ disable_mempool
+    $ listen_addr $ peers $ no_bootstrap_peers $ bootstrap_threshold
+    $ private_mode $ disable_mempool
     $ expected_pow $ rpc_listen_addr $ rpc_tls
     $ cors_origins $ cors_headers
     $ log_output
@@ -280,7 +282,7 @@ let read_and_patch_config_file ?(ignore_bootstrap_peers=false) args =
         peer_table_size ;
         expected_pow ;
         peers ; no_bootstrap_peers ;
-        listen_addr ; closed ;
+        listen_addr ; private_mode ;
         disable_mempool ;
         rpc_listen_addr ; rpc_tls ;
         cors_origins ; cors_headers ;
@@ -298,6 +300,6 @@ let read_and_patch_config_file ?(ignore_bootstrap_peers=false) args =
     ?data_dir ?min_connections ?expected_connections ?max_connections
     ?max_download_speed ?max_upload_speed ?binary_chunks_size
     ?peer_table_size ?expected_pow
-    ~bootstrap_peers ?listen_addr ?rpc_listen_addr
-    ~closed ~disable_mempool ~cors_origins ~cors_headers ?rpc_tls ?log_output
+    ~bootstrap_peers ?listen_addr ?rpc_listen_addr ~private_mode
+    ~disable_mempool ~cors_origins ~cors_headers ?rpc_tls ?log_output
     ?bootstrap_threshold cfg
diff --git a/src/bin_node/node_shared_arg.mli b/src/bin_node/node_shared_arg.mli
index c40af19ab..e8b275887 100644
--- a/src/bin_node/node_shared_arg.mli
+++ b/src/bin_node/node_shared_arg.mli
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ type t = {
   no_bootstrap_peers: bool ;
   listen_addr: string option ;
   rpc_listen_addr: string option ;
-  closed: bool ;
+  private_mode: bool ;
   disable_mempool: bool ;
   cors_origins: string list ;
   cors_headers: string list ;
diff --git a/src/bin_node/tezos-sandboxed-node.sh b/src/bin_node/tezos-sandboxed-node.sh
index dc47082f9..0f1304778 100755
--- a/src/bin_node/tezos-sandboxed-node.sh
+++ b/src/bin_node/tezos-sandboxed-node.sh
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ start_sandboxed_node() {
         peers+=("--peer")
         peers+=("127.0.0.1:$peer_port")
     done
-    peers+=("--closed")
+    peers+=("--private-mode")
     node="${local_node}"
     sandbox_param="--sandbox=$sandbox_file"
 
diff --git a/src/lib_p2p/p2p.ml b/src/lib_p2p/p2p.ml
index f5f43c525..8b8808082 100644
--- a/src/lib_p2p/p2p.ml
+++ b/src/lib_p2p/p2p.ml
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ type config = {
   listening_addr : P2p_addr.t option;
   trusted_points : P2p_point.Id.t list ;
   peers_file : string ;
-  closed_network : bool ;
+  private_mode : bool ;
   identity : P2p_identity.t ;
   proof_of_work_target : Crypto_box.target ;
   disable_mempool : bool ;
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ let create_connection_pool config limits meta_cfg conn_meta_cfg msg_cfg io_sched
     listening_port = config.listening_port ;
     trusted_points = config.trusted_points ;
     peers_file = config.peers_file ;
-    closed_network = config.closed_network ;
+    private_mode = config.private_mode ;
     min_connections = limits.min_connections ;
     max_connections = limits.max_connections ;
     max_incoming_connections = limits.max_incoming_connections ;
diff --git a/src/lib_p2p/p2p.mli b/src/lib_p2p/p2p.mli
index 5b9f4b8ea..27864cbe3 100644
--- a/src/lib_p2p/p2p.mli
+++ b/src/lib_p2p/p2p.mli
@@ -57,9 +57,11 @@ type config = {
   (** The path to the JSON file where the metadata associated to
       peer_ids are loaded / stored. *)
 
-  closed_network : bool ;
-  (** If [true], the only accepted connections are from peers whose
-      addresses are in [trusted_points]. *)
+  private_mode : bool ;
+  (** If [true], only open outgoing/accept incoming connections
+      to/from peers whose addresses are in [trusted_peers], and inform
+      these peers that the identity of this node should be revealed to
+      the rest of the network. *)
 
   identity : P2p_identity.t ;
   (** Cryptographic identity of the peer. *)
diff --git a/src/lib_p2p/p2p_maintenance.ml b/src/lib_p2p/p2p_maintenance.ml
index 88f030f41..9162b46dc 100644
--- a/src/lib_p2p/p2p_maintenance.ml
+++ b/src/lib_p2p/p2p_maintenance.ml
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ type 'meta t = {
     It ignores points which are greylisted, or for which a connection
     failed after [start_time] and the pointes that are banned. It
     first selects points with the oldest last tentative.
-    Non-trusted points are also ignored if option --closed is set. *)
+    Non-trusted points are also ignored if option --private-mode is set. *)
 let connectable st start_time expected seen_points =
   let Pool pool = st.pool in
   let now = Time.now () in
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ let connectable st start_time expected seen_points =
         | Some t1, Some t2 -> Time.compare t2 t1
     end) in
   let acc = Bounded_point_info.create expected in
-  let closed = (P2p_pool.config pool).P2p_pool.closed_network in
+  let private_mode = (P2p_pool.config pool).P2p_pool.private_mode in
   let seen_points =
     P2p_pool.Points.fold_known pool ~init:seen_points
       ~f:begin fun point pi seen_points ->
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ let connectable st start_time expected seen_points =
         *)
         if P2p_point.Set.mem point seen_points ||
            P2p_pool.Points.banned pool point ||
-           (closed && not (P2p_point_state.Info.trusted pi))
+           (private_mode && not (P2p_point_state.Info.trusted pi))
         then
           seen_points
         else
diff --git a/src/lib_p2p/p2p_pool.ml b/src/lib_p2p/p2p_pool.ml
index 747adda0a..4a4bd2fc8 100644
--- a/src/lib_p2p/p2p_pool.ml
+++ b/src/lib_p2p/p2p_pool.ml
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ type config = {
 
   trusted_points : P2p_point.Id.t list ;
   peers_file : string ;
-  closed_network : bool ;
+  private_mode : bool ;
 
   listening_port : P2p_addr.port option ;
   min_connections : int ;
@@ -673,8 +673,8 @@ let rec connect ?timeout pool point =
       register_point pool pool.config.identity.peer_id point in
     let addr, port as point = P2p_point_state.Info.point point_info in
     fail_unless
-      (not pool.config.closed_network || P2p_point_state.Info.trusted point_info)
-      P2p_errors.Closed_network >>=? fun () ->
+      (not pool.config.private_mode || P2p_point_state.Info.trusted point_info)
+      P2p_errors.Private_mode >>=? fun () ->
     fail_unless_disconnected_point point_info >>=? fun () ->
     P2p_point_state.set_requested point_info canceler ;
     let fd = Lwt_unix.socket PF_INET6 SOCK_STREAM 0 in
@@ -766,12 +766,12 @@ and authenticate pool ?point_info canceler fd point =
   in
   let acceptable_point =
     Option.unopt_map connection_point_info
-      ~default:(not pool.config.closed_network)
+      ~default:(not pool.config.private_mode)
       ~f:begin fun connection_point_info ->
         match P2p_point_state.get connection_point_info with
         | Requested _ -> not incoming
         | Disconnected ->
-            not pool.config.closed_network
+            not pool.config.private_mode
             || P2p_point_state.Info.trusted connection_point_info
         | Accepted _ | Running _ -> false
       end
diff --git a/src/lib_p2p/p2p_pool.mli b/src/lib_p2p/p2p_pool.mli
index dc47952a8..15e160668 100644
--- a/src/lib_p2p/p2p_pool.mli
+++ b/src/lib_p2p/p2p_pool.mli
@@ -55,9 +55,11 @@ type config = {
   (** The path to the JSON file where the metadata associated to
       peer_ids are loaded / stored. *)
 
-  closed_network : bool ;
-  (** If [true], the only accepted connections are from peers whose
-      addresses are in [trusted_peers]. *)
+  private_mode : bool ;
+  (** If [true], only open outgoing/accept incoming connections
+      to/from peers whose addresses are in [trusted_peers], and inform
+      these peers that the identity of this node should be revealed to
+      the rest of the network. *)
 
   listening_port : P2p_addr.port option ;
   (** If provided, it will be passed to [P2p_connection.authenticate]
diff --git a/src/lib_p2p/test/test_p2p_pool.ml b/src/lib_p2p/test/test_p2p_pool.ml
index 030b7fa31..a900e48bc 100644
--- a/src/lib_p2p/test/test_p2p_pool.ml
+++ b/src/lib_p2p/test/test_p2p_pool.ml
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ let detach_node f points n =
       proof_of_work_target ;
       trusted_points = points ;
       peers_file = "/dev/null" ;
-      closed_network = true ;
+      private_mode = true ;
       listening_port = Some port ;
       min_connections = nb_points ;
       max_connections = nb_points ;
diff --git a/src/lib_shell_services/p2p_errors.ml b/src/lib_shell_services/p2p_errors.ml
index 2f2413e98..a9e301ab0 100644
--- a/src/lib_shell_services/p2p_errors.ml
+++ b/src/lib_shell_services/p2p_errors.ml
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ type error += Connected
 type error += Connection_refused
 type error += Rejected of P2p_peer.Id.t
 type error += Too_many_connections
-type error += Closed_network
+type error += Private_mode
 type error += Point_banned of P2p_point.Id.t
 type error += Peer_banned of P2p_peer.Id.t
 
@@ -200,16 +200,16 @@ let () =
     Data_encoding.empty
     (function Too_many_connections -> Some () | _ -> None)
     (fun () -> Too_many_connections) ;
-  (* Closed network *)
+  (* Private mode *)
   register_error_kind
     `Permanent
-    ~id:"node.p2p_pool.closed_network"
-    ~title:"Closed network"
-    ~description:"Network is closed."
-    ~pp:(fun ppf () -> Format.fprintf ppf "Network is closed.")
+    ~id:"node.p2p_pool.private_mode"
+    ~title:"Private mode"
+    ~description:"Node is in private mode."
+    ~pp:(fun ppf () -> Format.fprintf ppf "Node is in private mode.")
     Data_encoding.empty
-    (function Closed_network -> Some () | _ -> None)
-    (fun () -> Closed_network) ;
+    (function Private_mode -> Some () | _ -> None)
+    (fun () -> Private_mode) ;
   (* Point Banned *)
   register_error_kind
     `Permanent