Decentralized identity is a way to identify yourself and prove things about yourself without depending entirely on one central account provider.
Instead of every interaction relying on “Google says this is you” or “this website owns your account,” you control cryptographic keys that let you prove control of an identity. Other parties can issue signed credentials about you, which you can present when needed.
me.whatever(what) — me.explain(“Why Did You Say That”)
Three things remain distinct:
Identity: Which identity or key do you control?Credentials: What has someone attested about you?Authorization: What does this service allow you to do?
For example, you could prove membership in an organization to an application. The application verifies that credential and decides whether it grants access.
“Decentralized” does not automatically mean blockchain, anonymity, or no servers. Recovery, revocation, storage, and trust still need mechanisms.
For .me, the relevant idea is: your identity remains yours while you enter different contexts; each context determines your permissions there.
What Is a Decentralized Identity. was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.