Introducing zPass: Aleo's pioneering step toward privacy-preserving digital identity

Navigating the balance between robust identity verification and user privacy is essential. Traditional identity systems, vulnerable to DDoS and single-point failures, fall short in the modern threat landscape.

We’ll always need to share personal information online. Still, we can work to shield sensitive data and eliminate our reliance on third parties that bad actors can compromise. What would an identity system look like that makes it easier and safer to share that data online?

The solution is zPass, built on the Aleo blockchain, which prioritizes user privacy and data security by using advanced zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography techniques for private decentralized identity verification.

With zPass, individuals and organizations can upload identity documents offline on private devices and services. They can then share anonymous ‘proofs’ to verify that underlying data with institutions that don’t have to carry the regulatory burden or cybersecurity risk of storing that data themselves.

Users can create these proofs without requiring modification from, or coordination with, identity issuing authorities — plus, they allow for greater composability and selective attribute disclosure. That means users can be more selective about how much information they share and with whom, keeping them from exposing any more personal data than is necessary for verification.

Grounded in decades of cryptography research

zPass is a groundbreaking, privacy-preserving credential system that ensures that users can access online applications securely and anonymously, revealing only essential details, while keeping the user's comprehensive and sensitive information safely offline.

Aleo's zPass leverages the Aleo blockchain for verified identity proofs. Decentralized validator nodes receive the proof in a transaction, verify the proof, and then add it to the blockchain. By sidestepping intermediaries, zPass ensures that personal data remains in safe hands.

How zPass improves the digital identity landscape

By empowering users with privacy-enhancing tools while simultaneously easing compliance burdens for platforms and developers, zPass sets a new standard for fast, private digital identity verification.

• Boosts security Directly countering the vulnerabilities in traditional systems, zPass elevates cybersecurity barriers against identity theft and unauthorized data access.

• Prioritizes user privacy Mirroring the initial objective of balanced identity management, zPass gives individuals full control over what data they share, acting as a safeguard for sensitive information.

• Builds trust By eliminating dependence on potentially vulnerable third parties, zPass fosters a more reliable and transparent environment for digital interactions.

• Streamlines compliance Aligning with the initial challenge, zPass can help relieve institutions from cumbersome regulatory obligations and cybersecurity risks, making identity verification swift and secure.

By aligning advanced cryptographic methods with the fundamental need for balanced identity management, zPass is answering today's pressing challenges in digital identity and data security.

Integrating existing credentials with zPass

zPass can onboard pre-existing signed credentials, like passports, as proofs on the Aleo blockchain. This is possible through Aleo's ability to execute programs that generate proofs locally on a user's device, ensuring greater privacy.

For instance, a user may want to authenticate their identity through their passport to access certain online services. zPass allows the user to locally compute and validate the information from this document, producing a binary true/false output and a ZK proof confirming the output can be trusted without ever revealing the actual document.

Because zPass leverages Aleo’s decentralized zero-knowledge proof network, third parties benefit from strong trust and verification guarantees without the need to actually see the confidential information. This represents a significant leap in user privacy, data security, and trust.

Learn more about the benefits of zPass and how to start creating your own privacy-preserving, identity-verification applications at zpass.aleo.org.