# Decentralized Identity **Concept class:** Identity architecture ## Definition **Decentralized identity** describes systems in which identifiers, credentials, keys, and disclosure decisions are not controlled exclusively by one central identity provider. Implementations vary: control claims, privacy guarantees, revocation, recovery, interoperability, and legal recognition must be evaluated separately rather than inferred from the label. ## Relationships - **ION implementation claim:** [[wiki/Ice Open Network|Ice Open Network]] describes ION ID as a self-sovereign identity service with selective disclosure and zero-knowledge mechanisms. - **technical routes:** verifiable credentials, decentralized identifiers, cryptographic keys, credential issuers, holders, and verifiers. - **risk routes:** key loss, recovery authority, metadata leakage, governance capture, and unverifiable vendor claims. - **disambiguation route:** [[wiki/ICE|ICE disambiguation]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [W3C — Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) v1.0](https://www.w3.org/TR/did-core/) - [ION whitepaper — ION ID](https://ice.io/id/whitepaper)