Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) Introduces Verified Credentials for Privacy-Centric Web3

Decentralized blockchain network Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) has launched a new solution that will enable the sharing of personal data while maintaining privacy and control in the web3 space.

According to a press release sent to CryptoPotato, Verified Credentials (VCs) are designed to prevent public discourse manipulation on social media by eliminating bots and fake accounts. VCs offer walletless tools and infrastructure to issue and share human credentials in a privacy-preserving fashion.

ICP Launches Verified Credentials

Verified Credentials are cryptographically secure digital representations of data like qualifications and achievements. They are digital versions of physical credentials that a crypto user can share with online service providers that need to verify a claim like age or humanity.

These credentials are built on ICP’s Internet Identity, a decentralized identity solution running end-to-end on the blockchain. They are also linked to a user through Internet Identity. This solution offers an authentication platform based on passkeys rather than passwords or seed phrases, protecting users against phishing attacks.

With ICP’s VCs, users can assign identity attributes to their Internet Identity, managing and reusing their credentials without decentralized applications linking the data back to them. Users can choose who they share their credentials with and how much information they want to give. They can explore features like verifying their ages without revealing their name or date of birth.

“The new Verifiable Credentials feature of Internet Identity addresses long standing problems for online privacy-preserving authentication: all a user needs is a computing device that has a passkey (all recent ones do) and a browser,” said Jan Camenisch, CTO of the DFINITY Foundation, the developer behind ICP.

Fixing the Issue of Bots

The first application of VCs in ICP is the Proof of Unique Humanity (PoUH), implemented by the decentralized on-chain messaging app OpenChat. PoUH ensures humans possess only one account on a platform by linking credentials to biometric data like facial, finger, or palm print recognition.

ICP believes that PoUH will fix the issue of multiple user accounts and bots perpetrating illicit behavior on traditional and web3 social media platforms.

“Apart from dApps on the Internet Computer, traditional systems can also plug in with Internet Identity and allow users to authenticate with Verifiable Credentials, e.g., proving that they are a real person, that they did KYC, or that they are over 18,” Camenisch added.