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Digital wallets

A digital wallet is a secure, user-controlled application that plays a vital role in the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) ecosystem. It serves as a repository for digital identities, enabling users to store, manage, and share their Verifiable Credentials securely while maintaining control over their personal data and privacy.

What is a digital wallet?​

A digital wallet in the context of SSI is more than just a storage solution. It provides a range of functionalities that allow users to:

Key features​

  1. Secure Credential Storage: Digital wallets offer a safe environment for storing digital credentials, such as IDs, certificates, and other personal documents, ensuring they are protected from unauthorized access.

  2. Verifiable Presentations: Allows users to create presentations of their credentials, enabling them to selectively disclose specific information to verifiers without revealing more than necessary.

  3. Privacy and Consent Management: Empowers users to control who can access their data and under what conditions, supporting privacy-by-design principles and compliance with data protection laws.

  4. Interoperability: Supports various identity standards and protocols, enabling seamless interactions across different platforms, services, and ecosystems.

Benefits of digital wsallets​

  • Enhanced Privacy: Ensures that only the necessary information is shared, minimizing data exposure.
  • User Control: Grants users full control over their digital interactions, reducing reliance on third-party intermediaries.
  • Security: Employs encryption, biometrics, and multi-factor authentication to safeguard credentials and sensitive data.
  • Improved Trust: Facilitates trusted peer-to-peer communication, enhancing trust in digital transactions.

Use cases​

1. Digital Identity Verification​

Digital wallets allow users to store credentials like driver’s licenses, passports, or diplomas and share them selectively with verifiers for digital identity verification, ensuring minimal data exposure.

2. Access Management​

Users can use their digital wallets to authenticate themselves to access secure online services, physical premises, or restricted resources without revealing unnecessary personal information.

Manage consents for data sharing with various service providers, ensuring user control and compliance with privacy regulations, such as GDPR.

How digital wallets work​

  1. Identity creation and management: Users create and manage DIDs and associated credentials within their wallets.
  2. Credential issuance and storage: Trusted entities (issuers) issue credentials to users, which are stored securely in their digital wallets.
  3. Secure sharing: Users generate verifiable presentations to share specific credentials with verifiers securely.
  4. Consent management: Users set privacy preferences and control the conditions under which their credentials are shared.

Further reading​