Persona Grata

Author: David Luna

  • Wallet-based credentials in 2023, and looking to 2024

    Decentralised identity, and wallet-based interactions in general, are coming! From simple login credentials to re-usable proofed identity data, 2023 saw the drumbeat of digital wallets and their credentials growing louder. Apple and Google Wallet have both embraced the technology, allowing some driver’s licenses and State IDs to be stored for presentation. This allows for these…

  • Compact Firefox UI

    I’ve been on holiday this week, and prior to that was very hard at work delivering exciting new proof of concepts (that were very well received!). The time off has let me catch up on some much-needed family time, as well as a couple of smaller personal projects. All this has left me without much…

  • Issuer / Holder / Verifier Model

    The issuer / holder / verifier model lies at the heart of wallet-based credentials. This is meant as a high level introduction to some of the fundamentals of the model. It tries to stay agnostic to specific implementation details such as credential formats, methods of credential transportation, DIDs, etc. If you already know all about…

  • The Presentation of Self on Everyday Internet

    Recently, I visited John Lewis and with the aid of a personal stylist went through my first ever wardrobe refresh. The result of this — other than leaving the store overburdened with bags containing shirts, trousers, and shoes, and underburdened in my wallet — had two functions: To finally rid myself of my old stockpile…

  • Small Update on luna.co.uk

    Request for Fundamentals A piece of feedback I’ve already received has been a request to provide some basic introductions to various topics around identity that I’ll mention throughout this site. For example, the wallet-based credentials issuer/holder/verifier model, two-factor authentication (2FA) and multi-factor authentication (MFA), and some standards such as OAuth2 and OIDC. I hope to…

  • Apple’s Announcement: “Presenting ID to businesses”

    Apple today announced that coming later this year, we would see: Present an ID to businesses using iPhone and Apple Wallet. Starting this fall, businesses will be able to accept IDs in Apple Wallet — no additional hardware needed. This will streamline their ability to securely check a customer’s age in person for things like…

  • Digital Identity Reflections on the Birth of my Second Son

    My second son arrived a few weeks ago, six days late but at the same time somewhat early, in slightly haphazard circumstances. This article is a chance for me to ponder what changes I expect to see happen across a number of topics in the digital identity industry between now and when both my kids…

  • Why “Wallet-Based Credentials”? What’s in a Name

    “Wallet-Based Credentials” refer to the issuer/holder/verifier (IHV) model of cryptographically-provable credentials in digital identity, as well as the technology and ecosystems that surround them. The term is not meant as a replacement for the existing names, but rather as a superset that is somewhat all-encompassing. It’s especially useful when speaking to non-technical folks, or people…

  • The Neverending Task of Finding my (Writer’s) Voice

    You may notice as you read the various articles on this site that some of them are written in a different voice to the others. Take the comparison of my piece about my experience at IIW, and my writing about the potential for wallet-based credentials to change how gamers interact. Generally, I’ll try to write…

  • Experience at my First IIW

    I was excited to have the opportunity this year to travel to my first ever Internet Identity Workshop. This was IIW XXXVI, and as the name implies, though it was my first, it was far from the first. There’s been 36 in total, over the last 18 years. As far I can tell, the majority…