Decentralized identity

Decentralized identity, or self-sovereign identity, is a model in which people or organizations hold and control reusable digital credentials rather than relying on a single platform to manage their identity data.

Decentralized identity, often called self-sovereign identity (SSI), is an approach to digital identity that lets an individual or organization store and present cryptographically verifiable credentials from a digital wallet or similar tool. The credential issuer can be a government, employer, school, bank, or other trusted party.

Instead of creating a separate account and submitting the same personal data to each service, the holder can share a credential or a limited claim from it, such as proof of age or employment. The receiving service verifies the cryptographic proof and the issuer's authority.

How it works

• An issuer creates a verifiable credential, a digitally signed data record such as a driver's license attribute, university degree, or proof of employment.
• The holder receives the credential in a wallet, typically on a phone or another controlled device.
• A verifier, such as an online service or venue, requests the information it needs.
• The holder presents the credential or a selective disclosure, and the verifier checks its signature, validity, and revocation status where applicable.

What decentralized means

The term does not mean identity data is necessarily stored on a blockchain or that no central organizations are involved. Governments, employers, and other issuers still decide whether to issue credentials, while relying parties decide what evidence to accept. Decentralization generally refers to reducing dependence on one identity provider as the intermediary for every transaction.

Privacy and practical limits

The model can support data minimization, meaning a person shares only the information needed for a transaction. For example, a verifier may receive confirmation that someone is over 18 without receiving their full date of birth. Actual privacy depends on wallet design, credential format, logging practices, and whether presentations can be linked across services.

Decentralized identity is not automatically more secure or more inclusive than conventional identity systems. It must address wallet recovery, device loss, fraud, credential revocation, accessibility, interoperability, and legal requirements such as the EU's eIDAS framework and US sector-specific privacy and identity rules.