How to Take Control of Your Digital Identity with Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs)
Nowadays, online interactions are playing a big part in everyone’s lives. The need for secure and trustworthy digital identity solutions has never been greater. Especially when traditional centralized systems for managing identities often raise concerns about security, and privacy. Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) have come as a solution for this concern by putting users back in control of their digital identities while ensuring security and privacy. In this article, we explore what DIDs are, the use cases and how to create your first DID.
Understanding Decentralized Identifiers
Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) are a new approach to digital identity, that puts users in full control. Unlike traditional identifiers such as usernames or email addresses issued by central authority, DIDs are decentralized and self-sovereign. By creating a DID, you can prove your identity online without having to share personal information with various platforms and services.
Each DID is a unique alphanumeric code that serves as an address on a blockchain or other decentralized network. DIDs are created and owned by individual users, not companies or governments. This ensures DIDs remain independent and cannot be controlled by any third party.
The power of DIDs come from the built-in cryptography. Each DID has its own private keys that only the owner can access. This fact enables secure, verifiable interactions without revealing personal data. Users can digitally sign and issue verifiable credentials using just their DID.
Centralized Identifiers vs Decentralized Identifiers
Centralized identifiers from large providers like Google or Facebook come with the following several drawbacks:
- Lack of Control: Your accounts can be revoked at any time since the central authorities have control of your identifiers.
- Privacy Concerns: Your online activities may be tracked, and your personal data is vulnerable to misuse by the providers.
- Security Risks: Centralized identity systems tend to be targets for hacking due to the concentrated data.
Recognizing the issues with centralized identifiers, decentralized identifiers (DIDs) offer an alternative for internet interactions. DID provides:
- Privacy: Users selectively share only information they choose, enhancing confidentiality.
- Interoperability: A single DID can be used across multiple platforms.
- Security: The decentralized nature of DIDs make tracking and correlating user data extremely difficult.
- Ownership: DIDs are generated and fully owned by individuals, not companies or governments.
By eliminating central authorities and their identifiers, DIDs empower users with self sovereign identity control while improving privacy and security online.
DIDs Use Cases Across Industries
DIDs offer privacy-centric solutions for digital identity and credential management across various industries. Here are a few use cases leveraging DIDs:
Healthcare and Medical Records
In healthcare, decentralized identity facilitates the secure management and sharing of medical records, empowering patients to control access to their health information. This enhances privacy, preserves data integrity, and ensures interoperability across various healthcare providers.
Supply Chain Management
Decentralized identity revolutionizes supply chain transparency and security by enabling authentic verification of goods and tracing their journey from source to consumer. By giving each product a unique identifier, it ensures products are authentic and their origins are clear, helping to fight counterfeit goods and build consumer trust.
Education and Academic Credentials
Decentralized identity streamlines the issuance and verification of digital academic credentials, removing the reliance on paper-based documents. It ensures secure and efficient sharing educational qualifications, skills, and certifications. This empowers individuals to manage their learning records securely, enabling them to share their academic achievements confidently.
DIDs in the Blockchain Ecosystem
Roam, a DePIN project offering seamless WiFi access at over 3.5 million locations worldwide, uses DID technology to replace traditional usernames and passwords within its app. Users can swiftly download the app and generate their unique DID in seconds. When near a Roam hotspot, they can effortlessly discover available connections and connect with a single tap. By implementing DIDs, Roam provides users with more control over their online identity and removes the need to manually enter passwords or log in credentials.
Create Your First DID with Roam
Making your first DID with Roam is a breeze thanks to its user-friendly design and system. In just a few simple steps, you can have your own unique identifier ready to go. Here’s how:
Step 1:
Download the Roam app: https://weroam.xyz/join_us.html. It’s available for both iOS and Android devices.
Step 2:
Once the app is installed, sign up using either your email address or wallet address.
Step 3:
Your DID is automatically created within the Roam application.
Step 4:
Congratulations! Your DID is now ready for use. Below is an example of what your DID might appear as:
As the first-ever DePIN project using DIDs to do OpenRoaming, Roam revolutionizes the way users connect to WiFi, replacing cumbersome usernames and passwords with a more secure and user-centric approach. With Roam, users can freely control their online identity while enjoying seamless WiFi connections and earning rewards for building the Roam network.
