Identity infrastructure for Web3

Polygon ID gives you the power to build trusted and secure relationships between users and dApps, following the principles of self sovereign identity and privacy by default.

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First trustless implementation of verifiable credentials
in Web3

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Don't trust, verify

Your application can require users to show their verifiable credentials or to generate Zero Knowledge proofs using these credentials - e.g. proof that you are a human without disclosing personal information.
You can create elaborated queries, like "proof that your are older than 18 and citizen of UK" using our unique ZK-Query language.

Verifiable credentials meet Web3

Take real world data (e.g., your diploma in the form of credentials) - stored in your wallet, and verify that data on-chain by generating a proof out of your data to interact with smart contracts.
Polygon ID is the first identity solution that allows users to use zero-knowledge proofs to interact with smart contracts, based on rich Verifiable Credential documents issued off-chain.
Polygon ID meets "Verifiable Credentials" (VC) and "Decentralized Identifiers" (DID) W3C standards, allowing you to increase interoperability of your dApp.

Improved user experience

Passwordless login: Hackers don't break in, they simply use credentials obtained through illicit means. Secure your systems and improve user experience by eliminating the need for passwords and implementing passwordless authentication.
Easily onboard: Verifiable Credentials are reusable. Once users receive a KYC credential, they can reuse that credential on each service they sign up for.
Composable reputation: Users can build reputation across multiple apps that can be collated, and accessed by new services on sign up.

Compliance without sacrificing privacy

Compliance is a primary concern for many as regulatory pressure increases
Polygon ID offers a solution to help with compliance use cases by using zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, which enables users to prove their identity without necessarily disclosing personal information to third parties.
Polygon ID can be used by developers to help in compliance processes while preserving privacy, without having to choose between the two.

Privacy by default

Polygon ID enables trust issuers to connect with trust verifiers. Individuals receive and store claims like a KYC check in a personal wallet, and use zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to privately verify the statements made about them. Polygon ID can securely interact with smart contracts and other identities without revealing personal information.

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In the news

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Introducing Polygon ID, Zero-Knowledge Identity for Web3

FAQ

Polygon ID is a set of tools for developers that can be used to facilitate trusted and secure relationships between apps and users. Developers can use Polygon ID to enable the exchange of verifiable credentials secured by cryptography and the blockchain. Polygon ID is designed for developers with a strong focus on privacy, decentralization and user data self-sovereignty.

Verifiable credentials are issued according to the W3C standards and signed cryptographically to guarantee they are tamper-proof. This is performed by Issuers, which are trusted organizations or companies. In the real world, this could include your government, university, or bank. In Web3, this could include KYC providers, oracles, DAOs, reputation services, etc.

For these Issuers, Polygon ID includes the Issuer Node, a self hosted API capable of creating these credentials.

Credentials are not created in the void. They are created when a user requests them to prove something. The user then has to request, collect and store the credential. This is done through an identity wallet. In the same way a crypto wallet holds your crypto private keys, an identity wallet holds your identity keys and your credentials.

For these identity wallets (and for crypto wallets willing to expand to hold identity keys and credentials), Polygon ID includes the Wallet SDK. The Wallet SDK can be used to develop mobile wallets that request, store and present credentials or proof of credentials (using zero-knowledge proofs). Polygon ID also includes a JavaScript SDK for developing web-based wallets, browser extensions and dApps.

Last but not least, these credentials are meant to give the user some “power” - the power to prove something about him/herself to a dApp or SmartContract (the Verifers of the credential).

The process is like a “question-answer” dialog. A dApp needs to verify that I’m older than 18 to give me access to some content, or a SmartContract needs to verify that I’m human and unique before giving me an airdrop. These Verifiers can “ask” my wallet these questions and my wallet will produce a valid answer using my credentials.

The entire process is highly resistant to tampering - thanks to the use of PKI (public key infrastructure) and blockchain, and privacy preserving - thanks to the use of zero knowledge proofs.

For the verification part of the process, Polygon ID includes the Verifier SDK and smart contracts for off-chain and on-chain verification. These libraries allow the Verifier to compose different queries (questions) without having to deal with the complexity of reconfiguring the underlying cryptography.

For further information please see this playlist.

An identity is represented by its identifier and a set of attributes. For example, your identifier could be your wallet address and your attributes could be non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or soulbound tokens (SBTs). Or your identifier could be your DID (decentralized identifier) and your attributes could be verifiable credentials (VC), the W3C standard used in Polygon ID.

• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): are unique representations of an asset on a blockchain. NFTs have frequently been speculative “assets” used to represent community memberships, profile pictures, art, metaverse land, and more. In digital identity, NFTs are used primarily as a form of purchasable membership pass or as a certificate. Some characteristics of NFTs are:
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- Identifier is a wallet address: NFTs are associated with static, public wallet addresses.
- Transferable: NFT can be transferred to another address therefore to another user.
- Tradable: NFTs facilitate the seamless buying and selling of digital assets.
- Traceable: Anyone can see on the blockchain how an NFT has been transferred.
- Blockchain specific: An NFT is tied to a specific blockchain.
- Public: NFTs are public on the blockchain; anyone can see them.
- Costs: If you were to issue an NFT, you would have to pay blockchain minting fees.

• Soulbound Tokens (SBTs): are NFTs that can't be transferred and are permanently tied to an individual owner. They are designed to store personalized data in a secure and non-transferable, non-tradable way. Although SBTs have more potential than NFTs to digitize identities, they still have the downside of being public on the blockchain and therefore are not suitable to hold sensitive data.

• Verifier Credentials (VC): are a type of credential that an Issuer cryptographically signs about a user. These credentials (e.g., KYC, credit score, master’s degree, etc.) are stored in the user’s identity wallet and not on the blockchain. These credentials are therefore private by default and are proven upon request, and in the case of Polygon ID, thanks to zero-knowledge technology, they can be proven without revealing any information, unless the user decides to do so via Selective Disclosure. Verifiable credentials can be programmed to be verifiable for specific durations of time or revocable by the Issuer. Some characteristics of VCs are:

- Identifier is a DID: The identifier is not a wallet address, but a DID (decentralized identifier). The VCs are owned by the DID.
- Non-transferable: VCs are issued to a specific identity (i.e. the user/Identity Holder) and cannot be transferred.
- Non-tradable: As the VCs cannot be transferred, they cannot be traded. You cannot sell your credentials. They are part of who you are.
- Not traceable: With the profiles anti-tracking feature of Polygon ID, you can interact with different vendors via multiple DIDs generated from the main DID.
- Interoperable: VCs standardize the format of information allowing Identity Holders to own their data and selectively share it with relevant parties across the internet, including between different blockchains. For example, once you have your KYC credentials, you can reuse them to authenticate you in different applications.
- Private by default: VCs are not publicly viewable as they are stored in the user’s digital wallet (you own your data), and will only be shared upon user consent and without necessarily revealing any information, thanks to zero-knowledge proofs.
- Costs: as the VC is not transferable and is not stored on the blockchain, there are no minting or transfer costs as withNFTs. For more details about the costs of running Polygon ID, see the question “What is the cost of Polygon ID?”.

Verifiable credentials, the W3C standard implemented in Polygon ID, are the most practical technology to digitize our identities and finally allow people to prove who they are on the internet. The challenge is user adoption, and Polygon ID is leading the way in the Web3 space. Join the ecosystem of projects already implementing Polygon ID!

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Identity infrastructure for Web3

Polygon ID Ecosystem

First trustless implementation of verifiable credentials in Web3

Don't trust, verify

Verifiable credentials meet Web3

Improved user experience

Compliance without sacrificing privacy

Privacy by default

Resources

Ecosystem

Tutorials

Github

First trustless implementation of verifiable credentials
in Web3