# Identity Proofing Identity proofing establishes that a real-world subject corresponds to a claimed digital identity. It is distinct from later authentication, which proves control of the already established account. ## Notebook evidence [[Scanned_20260730-2016]], PDF page 41, places [[ID.me]] inside a wider Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Namecheap, telephone, and device map. The page shows identity proofing becoming one dependency within a distributed personal identity system. ## Cross-notebook significance This note connects the account-recovery practice in [[Scanned_20260730-1706]] and [[Scanned_20260730-1913]] with the formal trust and credential systems in [[Scanned_20260730-1845]]. ## Boundary The presence of an ID.me record does not prove that a particular proofing transaction completed, which evidence was submitted, or which downstream institution relied on it. ## Source - [[Scanned_20260730-2016]], PDF page 41.