It’s unfortunate that today’s citizens have suffered so many abuses at the hands of companies and governments that we have collectively been numbed to the misuses, data breaches and sale of our personal data. We accept that large organisations will continue to benefit from our identities and private data, give us nothing in return, and our only hope for restitution is an occasional fine (slap on the wrist) levied at some large company that can easily absorb the cost.

Thanks to recent developments in blockchain technology, however, those days may be coming to an end. With the discovery of Self-Sovereign Identity, we are moving rapidly towards a new paradigm where WE own our data, and WE get to decide who is permitted to use it, and what they are allowed to do with it.

Imagine a future where your social media content belongs to you, and it is only shared with people (and organisations) of your choosing. If you decide to sell your data to advertisers, then the platform will pay you for access to your data, and you can choose to terminate that access at any time.

Imagine a future where you no longer have to carry around ID cards and passports to prove your identity. If a business needs to check your age, for instance, they don’t need to know your ID number, your name, or even your birthdate. As incredible as it sounds, you can actually prove that you are old enough without having to reveal your actual age!

Imagine a future where hackers can’t steal the identities of millions of people from large corporations, because even the large corporations won’t have that data! All of your personal information is safely encrypted in such a way that only you can unlock it.

This is the promise of Self-Sovereign Identity.