The world wide web was originally designed to be transparent, inclusive, and open to all. However, as technology progressed, the original vision was largely abandoned, leading to an overly centralized online ecosystem. Web 2.0, the version of the internet that we are currently living and most familiar with, has several drawbacks that we rarely discuss. Most of these problems stem from the fact that most Web 2.0 relies on digital identifiers. But what are these “digital identifiers,” and why do they matter? In the simplest terms, digital identifiers are used by third-party service providers to validate a user’s identity. These are primarily managed by big tech companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon, network operators, email service providers, and other online platforms that allow users to access the world wide web. A common example of digital identifiers is the OAuth2 option, which almost everyone uses. You are asked to register whenever you wish to access a new platform, such as an eCommerce store or a social media app. To make registration easy for users, many platforms employ OAuth2 – the feature that allows users to register through their existing Google or social media accounts directly. The Data Privacy Woes Surrounding Web2-Based Identifiers On one end, Web 2.0-based features like OAuth2 have certainly made life easier for the end-users. But, at the same time, our dependency on these centralized platforms ha...
