The document discusses plans for a new "Web5" initiative to create a decentralized web that puts individuals in control of their identity and data. The summary is: 1) Web5 aims to create a decentralized web where individuals own their identity and data through technologies like decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and verifiable credentials, rather than relying on centralized platforms. 2) It will use decentralized web nodes to store individuals' data across devices and networks, allowing them to grant access and share information more privately and securely. 3) The initiative aims to launch basic consumer tools by mid-2023 and have a fully-featured platform by late 2023/early 2024 to restore individual control over digital identity and data

1. Daniel Buchner
Head of Decentralised Identity

2. 1. Empower global SSI
communities
2. Open to everyone interested
in SSI
3. All content is shared with CC
BY SA
Alex Preukschat
@AlexPreukschat
James Monaghan
@james_monaghan
Coordinating Nodes
SSIMeetup.org | @SSIMeetup
SSIMeetup objectives

3. Back to the Future
of the Web

4. ● 16 years ago, browser vendors published
the first draft of the HTML5 spec.
● HTML5 introduced powerful new features to
the Web that went far beyond HTML (e.g.
APIs for geolocation, audio, local storage
of data).
● HTML5 enabled websites to deliver better
experiences, but since then centralization
of the Web become a serious problem.
A little Web history
We need a new effort to make the Web
what it was always supposed to be

5. Today The Web We Want
In the current Web model, people are
users who do not own their data or
identity. They are given accounts by
companies and their data is held
captive in app silos.
To create a new class of decentralized
apps and protocols that put individuals
at the center, we must empower them
with self-owned identity and restore
control over their data.
Personal and social
communications
Financial
interactions
All the apps
we love
Apps built for
Web5 store their
data with you
We need a better Web

6. The Web was created without a means for
individuals to own their identity. Web5
fixes this with Decentralized Identifiers.
The Web lacks a way for individuals and
businesses to convey trust and reputation.
Web5 fixes this with Verifiable Credentials.
The Web’s app model is based on storing data
with centralized corporate silos. Web5 fixes
this with DWeb Node personal datastores.
Getting to a better Web
did://

7. What’s in the box?!?

8. Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs)
• Owned and controlled by individuals
• No reliance on trusted authorities
• No special tokens or crypto schemes
• Strongly resistant to interdiction
• Discoverable and universally resolvable
Bob is able to independently
lookup and verify the keys and
endpoints of Alice’s DID.
Alice self-generates her DIDs
and anchors their keys and
endpoints in the DID network.
Web5.resolve(did:of:alice)
did:of:alice = {
keys: {…},
endpoints: {…}
}

9. Verifiable Credentials (VCs)
Issuer Verifier
iss: did:example:school
sub: did:example:alice
claims:
degree: Economics
name: Alice Smith
+ issuer’s digital signature
iss: did:example:school
sub: did:example:alice
claims:
degree: Economics
name: Alice Smith
+ issuer’s digital signature
+ subject’s digital signature
Anchor Issuer’s DID
with attached public
keys and endpoints
id: did:example:school
keys: { JWK }
Presentation of
Educational
Credential
Issuance of an
Educational
Credential
Alice’s
Wallet
Resolve Issuer’s DID
and verify credential
with attached keys

10. Decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs)
DID-relative addressing of
data the owner publishes.
Masterless eventually
consistent replication
across devices and clouds.
Data can be optionally
encrypted with the DID
keys of the owner.
Replicated
Encrypted
Supports Any
App Type
Store large files, such as
images, audio, video, etc.
Large Binary
Support

11. The Web5 Topology
Alice’s
remote DWN
Bob’s
remote DWN
DID
Resolver
Alice resolves Bob’s DID
Alice sends a record to Bob’s DWN
Bob’s DWN syncs
Alice’s message
Bob sends a response to Alice’s DWN
Bob resolves Alice’s DID
Alice’s DWN syncs
Bob’s response
Alice’s local DWN Bob’s local DWN
1 4
3
5
6
2

12. Show me the money!

13. A more powerful,
more personal Web
Alice’s addressable
DWeb Node
Everyone Alice allows gains
instant awareness of changes to
the data she has shared with them.
2
Alice updates her new address
and other personal details in
her DWeb Nodes when she moves.
1
Friends, family,
contacts
Businesses &
Employers
Institutions &
Organizations

14. Hotel me your travel plans
Alice’s DWN
Alice grants her hotel, airline, and
rental car provider the ability to add
reservations, tickets, and receipts to
her collection of trip-related data.
Alice can give any app, service, or
individual she chooses access to
reservations, tickets, and receipts
from her travel data.
1 2
DWN.records.write({
schema: “schema.org/Reservation”
data: { … }
}) Hotel Car Rental
Airline
Travel App
DWN.records.read({
schema: “schema.org/Trip”
data: { … }
})

15. Alice’s addressable
DWeb Node
TIDAL
Open Music
Artist adds stuff
Alice gets stuff from Artist
Music to my ears
1
2
DWN.records.write({
schema: “schema.org/Track”
data: { … }
})
DWN.records.query({
schema: “schema.org/Track”
})

16. The Web of Today The Web We Need
window.localStorage.set()
Storing data in a webpage:
DWN.records.write()
Storing data with your DWeb Nodes:
<input type="text" name="username" value="alice">
<input type="password" name="password">
Legacy auth for centralized accounts:
Web5.connect(“did:example:alice”)
DID auth for Decentralized Web Apps (DWAs):
window.fetch(“big-corp.com/bob/photos”)
Getting a friend’s data from a corporate silo:
DWN.records.query(“did:example:bob”, {
schema: “schema.org/Photographs”
})
Getting data directly from a friend’s DWeb Nodes:

17. DWeb Node Server
Web5 SDK
• Runs in browser, Node, Electron,
and other common JS runtimes
• Connect to apps with DIDs
• Includes a local DWeb Node
• Install app protocols and interact
with data in DWeb Nodes
• Runs in Node 18+
• Multi-tenant, so one instance can
handle the data for many DIDs
• Persists files to disk via Level,
but any database can be used
Available now in
Tech Preview
Available now in
Tech Preview

18. Announcement of the
initiative. Design and
development beings.
START
TECH PREVIEW
Invite developers to test and
contribute to the initial
build of core SDKs,
libraries, and components.
May
2023
June
2022
Summer
2023
Winter
2023
PUBLIC LAUNCH
Full consumer launch of the
Web5 stack with desktop and
mobile user agent apps.
FEATURE COMPLETE
All platform features are
complete with stable SDKs
that support all app types
The Road to Consumer Launch

19. Desktop Agent Mobile Agent
DID/Identity
Management
Support creation, updating,
and custody of DIDs
Credential
Interactions
Sign, verify, discover,
and exchange credentials
Data & App
Management
Manage personal and app data,
with an integrated DWeb Node
Summer 2023 Fall 2023

20. Web5 is Open to Build