Privacy-focused blockchain platform Aleo has revealed its new decentralized digital identity solution that allows users to reveal only the necessary data and only to whom it’s intended in the form of ‘proofs’ – without ever showing actual documents.
The zPass protocol is a novel privacy-preserving credential system built on the Aleo layer-1 blockchain, which keeps users’ sensitive information offline. According to the press release, when accessing online applications, only essential details are revealed.
Enhancing Privacy and Identity Verification
Aleo’s decentralized digital identity solution, called zPass, is designed to address the challenge of maintaining a balance between robust identity verification and user privacy. Current decentralized systems face privacy concerns, while centralized identity systems often collect more information than necessary due to regulatory requirements and become targets for hackers.
“Decentralized validator nodes receive the proof in a transaction, verify that proof, and then add it to the blockchain – thus eliminating intermediaries and third-party risks.” – John Reynolds, Product Manager at Aleo
The zPass protocol uses advanced zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography techniques for private decentralized identity verification and leverages the Aleo blockchain for verified identity proofs. Each user can select specific information within a document they want to share, ensuring that no more personal data is given than necessary for verification purposes, while retaining control over their personal information.
Additionally, zPass allows for the onboarding of pre-existing signed credentials as proofs on the blockchain, enabling users to authenticate their identity without revealing the actual document.
Advantages and Future Plans
By utilizing the zPass protocol, institutions can enhance their cybersecurity barriers against identity theft and unauthorized data access without carrying the regulatory burden or cybersecurity risk of storing user data themselves. Institutions can define regulations within the verification program according to their jurisdiction.
Future plans for the protocol include converting physical documents, such as passports and ID cards, into records on-chain, integrating a wallet interface for managing and building compositions of credentials, and extending use cases beyond age verification to areas like child safety online and financial fraud prevention.
“The proof and encrypted record are also reusable: the user decides when to use them, and the verifier sets the conditions for verification.” – John Reynolds, Product Manager at Aleo
