Solving My Identity Crisis

The talk starts from the problem that internet accounts belong to the service that issues them, with no practical way to carry an identity from one provider to another. The speaker points to Bluesky, where users attach a DNS name they control to a cryptographic key, and demonstrates signing in with that name to other sites, including a blog and group platform that keeps no account database of its own.

The middle of the talk covers three proposals. The first, called anywhere, extends DNS-handle sign-in beyond the AT Protocol so one identifier works at any site. The second, called anyone, pairs DNS handles with JSContact records so people can publish contact points and encryption keys, with the signing key serving as the lasting identifier rather than the name. Contact data can be passed along through DNS text records, QR codes, business cards or email headers. The third, called anything, describes how a network-connected device could receive its own DNS name, web certificates and an access list of authorized handles, instead of depending on a vendor cloud.

Audience questions covered domain seizure, generating keys with existing libraries, user experience and moving between service providers. The speaker argued that a domain name is only a lookup step and that users can change providers without the old one's permission. The takeaway is a call for implementers to build contact managers, run handle services and help refine the specifications, which are heading toward standardization at the IETF.