Semi-quantum secret sharing protocol with specific bits based on third party

Abstract The fundamental concept of secret sharing involves dividing a secret into multiple parts and distributing them among several participants, who collectively safeguard the secret. When it comes to restoring the secret, cooperation among specific participants is necessary to reconstruct the original secret. Quantum secret sharing (QSS) employs quantum methods to address some limitations of classical secret sharing. Semi-QSS, an advancement of quantum methods, requires fewer quantum resources. Previous semi-quantum protocols demanded at least one participant with full quantum capabilities and randomly generated secret information. This paper introduces a protocol allowing three participants lacking complete quantum capabilities to share secret information of specific bits with the assistance of a third party possessing complete quantum capabilities. Unlike previous approaches, this protocol does not require participants to possess full quantum capabilities and shares secret information of specific bits. These characteristics make the protocol more practical and flexible for real-world applications.