Across the world, governments are rushing to roll out centralized digital IDs.

Sleek apps that promise convenience, security, and seamless access to public services.

They tell us it’s progress.
They tell us it’s safer.
But what they’re really building is a control grid.

Because once your identity, your money, and your social access are tied to one centralized system, freedom stops being your right, it becomes a permission.

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The Hidden Risk of Centralized Digital IDs

At first, it seems harmless.

“Scan your face to renew your license.”
“Link your ID to your bank account.”
“Add your vaccine record for faster travel.”

But once everything is linked, you can be switched off with a single command.

When identity, payments, and social access are unified in a central database:

• Your digital ID can be suspended for “policy violations.”
• Your digital money (CBDC) can be frozen or even programmed to expire.
• Your freedom to transact or travel can be limited by algorithmic rules.

If you think that’s dystopian fiction, look around:

• China’s social credit system is already operational.
• Europe’s digital identity wallet is in testing.
• Canada and others are working on federated digital ID frameworks linked to financial systems.

And when you combine digital IDs with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), governments can track, limit, or even program how you spend YOUR money.

The Alternative: A Digital ID You Actually Own

Now imagine a digital identity that:

• You control
• No one can revoke
• Lives in your digital wallet, not a government database

That’s what DIDs - Decentralized Identifiers, make possible.

A DID is like your digital passport, but instead of being issued by a government, you generate it yourself using cryptography.

When you log in to an application using your DID:

• You don’t ask a company or government to “vouch” for you.
• You simply prove ownership of your keys, instantly, privately, securely.

It’s privacy, sovereignty, and freedom, built right into the code.

How It Works (In Simple Terms)

Traditional login:

You ask a company or government to verify you.
They own your account and can take it away.

DID login:

You prove who you are by signing a message with your private key.
The website verifies your identity using your public key.

No passwords. No databases. No permission required.

It’s cryptographic proof of identity, not political permission.

Why This Matters Right Now

Digital IDs and programmable money are coming at the same time and that’s no coincidence.

Together, they create a perfect control loop:

• Digital ID → verifies who you are
• Digital money → controls what you can do

If governments can verify your identity and restrict your spending, freedom becomes a switch on a dashboard.

DIDs flip that structure upside down.
Instead of the system owning you, you own your digital self.

You decide:

• What data to share
• With whom
• For how long
  And you can revoke that access at any time.

It’s opt-in trust, not forced compliance.

A New Social Contract for the Digital Age

The fight for privacy isn’t about hiding, it’s about ownership.
Ownership of your data.
Ownership of your identity.
Ownership of your digital life.

Centralized IDs make you a product.

DIDs make you a sovereign participant.

The open web was supposed to be about freedom.

Decentralized identity is how we take it back.

How to Claim Your DID (and Own Your Digital Identity)

Here’s how you can start taking back control starting today.

Step 1. Get a DID-compatible wallet

You can use one of these to create your first Decentralized ID:

• SpruceID — simple, open-source identity wallet
• ION / DID:BTC — Bitcoin-anchored DID system for high security

Each wallet generates your private/public key pair and your DID, no personal info required.

Step 2. Create your DID

When you create a DID, your wallet gives you something that looks like this:

did:btc:12345abcdef67890

That’s your digital identity, unique and verifiable, but not tied to any government or company.

It lives on decentralized infrastructure, not in a database that someone else can shut off.

Step 3. Use your DID to log in

Some platforms already support “Sign in with DID” for example:

• Decentralized social apps like Nostr or Bluesky
• Privacy-first forums and wallets

When you use your DID to log in, you’re proving who you are without handing over your personal data.

Step 4. Back up your keys

Your DID is only as secure as your private key.

Store backups offline (hardware wallet or encrypted USB) , never share them online.

Live products using DIDs for login/identity

• Bluesky / AT Protocol (bsky.app) — every account has a DID (did:plc or did:web); identity & auth across services use the account’s DID. (docs.bsky.app)
• Gitcoin Passport — your “Passport” is a DID object on Ceramic tied to your wallet; used for sybil-resistant sign-in across Gitcoin ecosystem apps. (blog.ceramic.network)
• Disco (now part of Privado ID) — creates a DID-backed “Data Backpack” on Ceramic; used to authenticate and present credentials in apps and gated experiences like Disco District. (zerion.io)

Developer-facing implementations & demos you can log into with a DID

• Web5 sample apps (TBD) — example apps show DIDAuth: connect, create/resolve a DID, then use it to sign in and read/write to a DWN. (DEV Community)
• Jolocom SmartWallet + demo services — “mock web services” you can log into via simple DID authentication (Avalon/Aelondo demos). (Jolocom)
• Ceramic / 3ID Connect & Self.ID — browser demos where users authenticate to a DID (did:pkh or did:key) and the app verifies via Ceramic; includes a web playground and tutorials. (blog.ceramic.network)
• Microsoft DID sign-in sample — a reference web app that lets users sign in with a DID using DIF libraries (useful to test the flow end-to-end). (didproject.azurewebsites.net)\

Freedom online begins when you own your identity.

Learn more at w3.org/TR/did-core and explore tools at spruceid.com or developer.tbd.website

Share this post with others who still think digital IDs are “harmless.”

We can’t stop what’s coming but we can build the alternative.

Freedom online begins when you own your identity.

Learn more at w3.org/TR/did-coreand explore tools at spruceid.com or identity.foundation/ion/

ON SURVIVAL is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.