SocialKYC restores customers’ control over personal data

B.T.E. BOTLabs, a subsidiary of BOTLabs GmbH, has launched the decentralized identity service SocialKYC, Invezz learned from a press release. The service enables customers to regain control over their digital data and is built on KILT Protocol.

BOTLabs GmbH is the initial developer of KILT, which became the first fully decentralized identity blockchain in the Polkadot (DOT/USD) ecosystem in November last year.

Users can manage, store, present personal credentials

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SocialKYC and Sporran, the KILT wallet, let users manage, store and present their personal credentials, allowing them to choose which private data online services can access them and which can’t. SocialKYC issues users credentials to confirm social media or email ownership after they have proven that they control the account.

Differences with traditional KYC

SocialKYC gives the user power to extend trust using their social accounts, forging a digital identity which they can use online without involving the traditional KYC.

First, SocialKYC sends the user a simple task to confirm they control a specific account. After that, it issues the user a credential, which remains under their full control. This credential proves control or ownership of the specific account.

The service does not store or share this personal data. It remains in the user’s full control. They can present the credentials to any online service that will accept them, in any way and at any time.

Ingo Rübe, Founder of KILT Protocol and CEO of BOTLabs GmbH, said:

Unlike sign-in processes on the internet to date, SocialKYC forgets about the user and the credential as soon as the credential is issued. This avoids your personal data being shared, sold or otherwise ‘monetized’ by third parties without your knowledge or benefit. From brick and mortar to metaverse, there are SocialKYC use case opportunities wherever social trust is needed.

Creating a KILT identity

To set up the new service, you must create a KILT identity in Sporran. This is a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox, which B.T.E. created as a gateway to the KILT blockchain. Sporran is a wallet for KILT coins and credentials, allowing users to manage several identities, create on-chain DIDs (Decentralized Identifiers) for them, and subsequently add verifiable credentials to the DIDs.