Decentralized Identifiers: The Much-Needed Solution For Better Data Privacy & Security

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The existing version of the internet, also known as Web 2.0, is overly reliant on “digital identifiers” from centralized intermediaries like Facebook, Google, network operators, and email providers that connect us (the users) to the worldwide web. This has led to a significant rise in problems related to data security, ranging from identity theft, targeted hacking, and much more.

A possible solution in the form of decentralized identifiers (DIDs) has emerged as an answer to this problem, designed to enable users to retain more control over their data and how or who they want to share it with.

Yet, to fully understand the concept of decentralized identifiers, it first demands a thorough understanding of how things work in the existing format of the internet.

By enabling communication between multiple platforms through services like OAuth2, big tech companies, eCommerce platforms, and several other industries centralize user data. While this has made life easier for us and afforded us immense convenience, it has also led to several critical problems.

For instance, the majority of the users employ the “Sign In With Google” or “Sign In With Facebook” options to register on a new website or platform. While these OAuth2-powered options make things seamless and accessible for users, it also leads to data privacy issues. The data harvested from the users is stored in centralized servers, making it an easy target for hackers. As a result, an immense amount of PII (Personal Identifiable Information) is leaked across the web, leading to other severe problems like identity theft.

Another critical