What is Self Sovereign Identity?

Understanding Self Sovereign Identity

Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) fundamentally reimagines digital identity by shifting control from centralized authorities to individuals, who maintain ownership of their identity information and selectively disclose only what’s necessary for specific interactions. This model addresses longstanding problems with traditional approaches: reducing massive data breaches by eliminating centralized identity repositories, preventing unnecessary data collection through minimized disclosure, enabling portable credentials across service providers, and restoring user agency over personal information. SSI typically implements three core components: decentralized identifiers (DIDs) that function as persistent, cryptographically verifiable identifiers; verifiable credentials containing claims about the identity holder, cryptographically signed by trusted issuers; and secure digital wallets enabling individuals to store and manage their credentials. While promising, implementation challenges include establishing trust frameworks that determine which credential issuers are recognized as authoritative, achieving interoperability across different technical implementations, and balancing individual sovereignty with legitimate needs for accountability in regulated contexts. Organizations implementing SSI should participate in relevant standards development, establish clear governance for trusted issuer recognition, and design user experiences that make credential management intuitive despite the underlying cryptographic complexity.