Polygon launches web3 user IDs that keep personal details anonymous

• Polygon launches a new solution for web 3.0 that could help users pass identity verification without revealing personal information
  
• Polygon ID is a digital privacy-focussed identity platform in development, based on zero-knowledge proof.
  
• It is expected to simplify authentication on upcoming blockchain-based Web3 platforms. The complete platform is expected to be ready in the third quarter of 2022.

It is expected to simplify authentication on upcoming blockchain-based Web3 platforms. The complete platform is expected to be ready in the third quarter of 2022.

The Polygon network, a decentralized app (Dapp) layer for Ethereum, has announced that its “zero-knowledge” (ZK) digital identity platform called Polygon ID will be ready before this year ends. Polygon is working on the new ZK-proof identity solution, which will help users guard their privacy on blockchain-based Web3 platforms.

Polygon ID is expected to be used by organisations and businesses, for identity and trust management purposes, such as KYC (Know Your Customer) and digital wallet. At its essence, users can authenticate themselves to blockchain-based applications, without providing passwords or data to every such application individually.

What could a Polygon ID based Web3 look like?
The term “zero-knowledge proof” refers to the cryptographic proof on a blockchain, that allows for verifying a person’s identity, without needing any documents or details. Such a facility could save time for users and satisfy government-mandated KYC verification norms.

Conceptually, this could be the blockchain-enabled OpenID equivalent to the upcoming Web3. OpenID on today’s Web2 functions as a way to login to a new website/service without specifically signing up for it, by using an existing Microsoft/Google account. Today’s OpenID shares some data about the user, such as name, email, age-range, etc.

The upcoming Polygon ID however, claims to offer more privacy, when authenticating a user on a third-party service. According to their blog, Polygon ID could be one way to verify user claims when logging into Web3 services; such as identity, date of birth, DAO membership, available services, and more.

Today you need to individually create a login and upload KYC documents to each crypto service – an exchange, a game, an NFT marketplace, a DeFi facility, an auctioner or meeting service in a metaverse, and so on. Polygon ID broadly asks you to imagine a single login service that lets you login to your crypto exchange, verify your age on Web3 social media, prove ownership of an NFT, establish credit-worthiness for DeFi borrowing, and easily enter a corporate all-hands meeting.

Polygon ID claims some crypto-age benefits

• Private by default, meaning users choose when and what data is shared.
• Zero-knowledge protocols based on Iden3, for additional user privacy.
• On-chain verification, enabling scalability as usage grows to more decentralised apps and decentralised finance.
• Blockchain-based ID, enabling decentralised and “self-sovereign” principles, that put users in control of their personal data.
• Advanced privacy and app-access with appropriate anonymity.
• User interaction with services, without depending on an intermediary.
• User validation and attestation services, for DAO/DeFi/Web3 purposes.

According to the company’s stated timeline on their blog, today’s announcement is about the proof-of-concept (PoC) being ready. The complete Polygon ID platform is scheduled to be ready in the third quarter of 2022.

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