What is Decentralized Identifier (DID)?

Decentralized Identifier (DID) is a framework of cryptographically verifiable universally unique identifiers (UUID). DIDs can be created without the intervention of centralized registration authorities.

Decentralized identifiers can be required for the identification of individual and abstract entities, organizations, data models, and Internet of Things (IoT) tools and devices.

The core idea of decentralized identifiers is giving internet users control of their identity and encouraging them to create unique identifiers with trustworthy systems. Authentication using cryptographic tools like digital signatures allows individuals and companies to exchange data securely and privately via blockchain-based distributed ledger technology (DLT).

Many websites, applications, and devices online require identity verification to be able to access their services. Technologies such as universally unique identifiers and uniform resource names (URN) require centralized registration authorities and are unable to verify the identifier’s ownership via cryptographic tools.

The issues of identifiers requiring centralized registration authorities can lead to privacy or data loss and other malicious acts. The decentralized identifier protocol provides a higher level of security of sensitive data.

Users can store multiple identifiers in private digital wallets. Some of the accepted IDs are government-issued certificates, education and tax certificates, and personal identifiable information (PII).

All identifying information is securely locked in a user-managed wallet utilizing a blockchain-based distributed ledger without any interference from centralized authorities. The users have complete control over what information regarding their identity they want to share and with which services.

With DIDs, users can limit what they present to a digital entity, like a website or an application, to only the required information. The digital entities can then use a blockchain-based ledger to verify the legitimacy of the identity proofs.

If a user needs to prove that they are over 18 years old to access a digital service, they can use the decentralized digital wallet to act as the proof of identity without revealing the specifics of their date of birth or other personal information.

The DID Framework

The core DID draft was initially released on the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It described the decentralized identifier as a simple string of text that contains three parts:

• The DID URI scheme identifier, stored on-chain;
• The DID method identifier;
• The DID method-specific identifier.

Decentralized identifiers are within a global key-value database. DID documents, like public keys or authentication protocols, are hosted on compatible blockchain networks.

Decentralized identifiers act as keys, while DID Documents are considered to be values that describe specific data models as a way of bootstrapping cryptographic interactions with a known subject in the decentralized space.

DID documents contain public keys that are used for authentication. However, the owners of DID documents use private keys to establish their ownership over the decentralized identifiers.