The Privacy Risks of Digital IDs: What You Need to Know

Digital IDs are being promoted as a modern solution to streamline identity verification. Instead of carrying physical documents like your driver’s license or passport, you’d use a sleek digital version on your phone. It sounds simple and convenient, but beneath the surface lies a web of privacy and security concerns that shouldn’t be ignored.

Let’s be clear—this isn’t just about turning your ID into a file on your phone. Digital IDs require a centralised system to manage, store, and verify them. This raises serious red flags about privacy, security, and government overreach.

Centralised Databases: A Hacker’s Goldmine

Centralising identity data creates a single point of failure, making the system a prime target for hackers. The more sensitive data stored in one place, the more attractive it becomes to malicious actors. Even with robust cybersecurity, breaches are a matter of when, not if.

Countless data breaches in recent years have shown how vulnerable large data stores can be. If a centralized digital ID system were compromised, it wouldn’t just be a matter of leaked phone numbers or email addresses—it could expose entire identities, including passports, driver’s licenses, and even medical records. Victims could face identity theft, fraud, and long-term damage to their financial and personal lives.

Metadata: The Hidden Privacy Cost

Each time you use a digital ID, it leaves behind a digital trail. Metadata—information about the time, location, and device used for verification—is logged and stored. This means every time you prove your identity, a record is created.

Going to the pub? There’s a record of that. Picking up a package? That’s logged too. Over time, this system builds a detailed profile of your movements and activities, accessible to the government or other entities. Unlike showing your physical ID to a bartender, which leaves no trace, this level of surveillance is both invasive and unnecessary.

The Appeal of Privacy-Preserving Alternatives

Digital IDs don’t have to compromise your privacy. Decentralised systems like Proof of Passport use cryptographic methods to verify your identity without creating a centralised database or logging your activity. These systems rely on zero-knowledge proofs, which let you prove something without exposing unnecessary information. You could, for example, prove that you’re over 18 without exposing your date of birth.

Such alternatives maintain the convenience of digital ID systems while safeguarding privacy. By decentralising verification and eliminating permanent records, they strike a better balance between security and personal freedom.

The Risks of Centralised Digital IDs

The issue isn’t that digital IDs are inherently bad—they have their place in a world where practically everything has a more convenient digital alternative. The real danger lies in their centralised implementation, which makes it easier for governments and corporations to track, monitor, and exploit your personal data.

Once this information is centralised, undoing it becomes almost impossible. The potential for misuse is enormous, with governments justifying increased surveillance in the name of security or efficiency.

A Future Worth Questioning

Before embracing digital IDs, we need to ask hard questions about what we’re sacrificing in the name of convenience. Do we really want a future where our every move is logged and accessible? Technology should make life better, not at the expense of our fundamental right to privacy.

The sleek promise of digital IDs may seem appealing, but the devil is in the details. Without proper safeguards, these systems risk becoming tools for surveillance and control—a trade-off no one should be willing to make.