---
title       : Self Sovereign Identity (SSI)
description : Literature associated with the Fundamentals of Self-Sovereign Identity.
image       : "https://infominer.id/DIDecentralized/images/sovereign-identity.png"
twitter:
  card      : "summary_large_image"
layout: single

---

<center><img src="../images/sovereign-id-wide.png"/></center>

# Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) 
**Literature associated with the Fundamentals of Self-Sovereign Identity.**

This directory was born from [/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity), the original SSI repository. 

The reason I got started on this is because I wanted to write an article about SSI, and saw some areas where I could help with some of the legwork towards a more complete, and up-to-date set of SSI literature.

In my opinion, the best overall article on the subject is still Christopher Allen's rallying cry: [The Path to Self-Sovereign Identity](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity/blob/master/ThePathToSelf-SovereignIdentity.md). Christopher did an outstanding job of outlining the history of internet identity standards, and introduces [10 Principles of Self-Sovereign Identity](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity/blob/master/self-sovereign-identity-principles.md), currently in revision. 

However, considerable additional material has been created on the subject since then, including some helpful criticism on the principles. I've organized some of my initial thoughts in [evolution-of-ssi](evolution-of-ssi/).

Then I realized that I should make a more complete survey of the subject, if I want to be thorough. So now I'm collecting as much SSI info as I can, and organizing it here. Once I've completed a review of existing literature on the subject, I'll put it into a google shared doc to encourage further participation. 

![](https://i.imgur.com/S9uBk4k.png)
[Self Sovereign Identity - An Unofficial Generic Icon](https://medium.com/@trbouma/self-sovereign-identity-an-unofficial-generic-icon-a5a6ab332cd7)

## SSI Documentation Components

* [The Path to Self-Sovereign Identity](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity/blob/master/ThePathToSelf-SovereignIdentity.md) - The original article on Self-Sovereign Identity and the 10 Principles of Self-Sovereign Identity as published on 2016-04-25 in github and at [Life With Alacrity](http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2016/04/the-path-to-self-soverereign-identity.html) by [Christopher Allen](http://www.github.com/christophera) [[**ϟ**](https://www.coindesk.com/path-self-sovereign-identity/amp/)]
  * [10 Principles of Self-Sovereign Identity](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity/blob/master/self-sovereign-identity-principles.md) - The Self-Sovereign Identity Principles, in progress of being revised.
  * [Core Characteristics of Self Sovereign Identity](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity/blob/master/characteristics-of-sovereign-identity.md) - from *[A Technlogy-Free Definition of Self-Sovereign Identity](https://github.com/jandrieu/rebooting-the-web-of-trust-fall2016/raw/master/topics-and-advance-readings/a-technology-free-definition-of-self-sovereign-identity.pdf)* - Topic paper for Rebooting Web of Trust III by [Joe Andrieu](http://www.github.com/jandrieu) (for review and comparison against *10 Principles of SSI*)
    * [SSI Principles vs. Characteristics](ssi-principles-vs-characteristics/)
  * [Self-Sovereign Bill of Rights](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity/blob/master/self-sovereign-identity-bill-of-rights.md) - lifeID (founded by [Chris Boscolo](https://github.com/cboscolo)) adapted the 10 Principles of Self-Sovereign Identity into a [Bill of Rights](https://medium.com/@lifeID_io/lifeid-self-sovereign-identity-bill-of-rights-d2acafa1de8b) that all self-sovereign identity solution should uphold.
  * [Schutte's Take](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity/blob/master/Schutte-on-SSI.md) offers criticism on the 10 principles.
* [7 Myths of Self Sovereign Identity](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity/blob/master/7-myths-of-self-sovereign-identity.md) - from Timothy Ruff's [blog post](https://medium.com/evernym/7-myths-of-self-sovereign-identity-67aea7416b1).
* [A Gentle Guide to Self Sovereign Identity](https://bitsonblocks.net/2017/05/17/gentle-introduction-self-sovereign-identity/) has a section called "How would self-sovereign identity work for the user?" that could be [modularized](user-experience/).
* [How to Convince Dad* of the Importance of Self-Sovereign Identity](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot7/blob/master/final-documents/convincing-dad.md) (\*and your sister and your daughter and your best friend and your nephew) (SSI Use-Cases)
* [Self-Sovereign Identity and the Legitimacy of Permissioned Ledgers](http://www.windley.com/archives/2016/09/self-sovereign_identity_and_the_legitimacy_of_permissioned_ledgers.shtml)

![](https://imgur.com/3zz62kpl.png)


### Assorted

* [Identity and Digital Self-Sovereignty](https://medium.com/learning-machine-blog/identity-and-digital-self-sovereignty-1f3faab7d9e3#.3jcgvnbok) - Blog post by [Natalie Smolenski](https://medium.com/@nsmolenski)
  * [Sovereignty in Historical Context for Self-Sovereign Identity – Natalie Smolenski – Webinar 18](http://ssimeetup.org/sovereignty-historical-context-self-sovereign-identity-natalie-smolenski-webinar-18/)
* [SSI: A Roadmap for Adoption](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rebooting-the-web-of-trust-spring2018/blob/master/final-documents/a-roadmap-for-ssi.md) from Rebooting the web of trust, Spring 2018. 
  > This document proposes the formation of a short-term team to develop consistent messaging for the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) market.
* [Inevitable Rise of Self-Sovereign Identity](https://sovrin.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/The-Inevitable-Rise-of-Self-Sovereign-Identity.pdf)
* [Self-Sovereign Identity: Why Blockchain?](https://www.ibm.com/blogs/blockchain/2018/06/self-sovereign-identity-why-blockchain/)
* [IBM-Paving the Road to Self-Sovereign Identity with Blockchain, Open Standards](https://www.ibm.com/blogs/think/2017/10/self-sovereign-id-blockchain/)
* [The Three Models of Digital Identity Relationships — How self-sovereign identity (SSI) is different, and why it’s better](https://medium.com/evernym/the-three-models-of-digital-identity-relationships-ca0727cb5186) 
* [The Rise of Self-Sovereign Identity - Hyperledger Indy](https://wso2.com/blog/research/the-rise-of-self-sovereign-identity-hyperledger-indy)
* [Paving the Road to Self-Sovereign Identity with Blockchain, Open Standards](https://www.ibm.com/blogs/think/2017/10/self-sovereign-id-blockchain/)
* [Deployment of a Blockchain-Based Self-Sovereign Identity - Delft](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1806.01926.pdf)
* [The Nail Finds a Hammer: Self-Sovereign Identity, Design Principles, and Property Rights in the Developing World](https://www.newamerica.org/future-property-rights/reports/nail-finds-hammer/)
* [GDPR - A reflection on the 'self-sovereign identity' and the Blockchain](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gdpr-reflection-self-sovereign-identity-blockchain-nicolas-ameye/)
* [Self-Sovereign Privacy By Design](https://github.com/sovrin-foundation/protocol/blob/master/self_sovereign_privacy_by_design_v1.md)
* [Is Self-Sovereign Identity the ultimate GDPR compliance tool? [1\3]](https://medium.com/evernym/is-self-sovereign-identity-ssi-the-ultimate-gdpr-compliance-tool-9d8110752f89) [[**2**](https://medium.com/evernym/is-self-sovereign-identity-ssi-the-ultimate-gdpr-compliance-tool-40db94c1c437)] [[**3**](https://medium.com/evernym/is-self-sovereign-identity-ssi-the-ultimate-gdpr-compliance-tool-7296a3b07769)]
* [Towards Self-Sovereign Identity using Blockchain Technology](https://essay.utwente.nl/71274/1/Baars_MA_BMS.pdf)
* [Self-sovereign Identity –	Opportunities and Challenges for the Digital Revolution](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1712.01767.pdf)
* [Decentralized Identity Trilemma](http://maciek.blog/DecentralizedIDentity-trilemma/)
   >There seems to exist a trilemma in decentralized identity analogous to @Zooko's triangle. None of the existing solutions are at the same time: 1) privacy-preserving, 2) Sybil-resistant 3) self-sovereign -[[**T**](https://twitter.com/MaciekLaskus/status/1031859093072424960)]
* [Self Sovereign Identity and MyData](https://medium.com/@apoikola/self-sovereign-identity-and-mydata-e1f996a9451)
* [HIPE 0014-ssi-notation](https://github.com/hyperledger/indy-hipe/tree/master/text/0014-ssi-notation)
* [IIW - Past Workshops](https://internetidentityworkshop.com/past-workshops/)
* [Self Sovereign Identity -identitywoman.net](https://identitywoman.net/self-sovereign-identity/)
* [Self Sovereign Identity going where no identity has gone before](https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/16693/342423/self-sovereign-identity-going-where-no-identity-has-gone-before)
* [LESS identity](https://medium.com/@trbouma/less-identity-65f65d87f56b)
* [A Primer on Functional Identity](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rebooting-the-web-of-trust-fall2017/blob/master/topics-and-advance-readings/functional-identity-primer.md); Joe Andrieu describes identity terms in plain language, with regards to what function they serve.
* [Matching Identity Management Solutions to Self Sovereign Identity Solutions](https://www.slideshare.net/TommyKoens/matching-identity-management-solutions-to-selfsovereign-identity-principles)



#### Video

* [Identity and the quest for Self Sovereign Identity - Daniel Hardman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqmY_h49vPs)
* [Self Sovereign Identity and the MyData model from Finland - Antti 'Jogi' Poikola](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amq88XmWaNs)
* [Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and Open Source – Richard Esplin from SSIMeetup](http://ssimeetup.org/self-sovereign-identity-ssi-open-source-richard-esplin-webinar-16/)
* [Decentralized Identifiers enable self-sovereign identity - MyData 2018](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsIM0zq37fU)
* [eIDAS and Self-Sovereign Identity - MyData 2018](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHa175AEVVs)
* [uPort: Self-Sovereign Identity Meets Portable Data](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBIragrwqYc)
* [Behind the Cloud—Blockchain and Self-Sovereign Identity in the Enterprise](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSdm2-18Z2g)
* [The Story of Open SSI Standards - Drummond Reed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RllH91rcFdE&feature=youtu.be&t=4m30s)
* [Kim Cameron - Identity Laws](https://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/scobleizer/Kim-Cameron-Identity-Laws)

### History

* [Kim Cameron Identity Laws](https://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/scobleizer/Kim-Cameron-Identity-Laws)
  * [Laws of Identity - Whitepaper](https://web.archive.org/web/20080814163727/http://www.identityblog.com/stories/2004/12/09/thelaws.html)
*  [*What is Sovereign Source Authority?*](https://www.moxytongue.com/2012/02/what-is-sovereign-source-authority.html) shows an early use of 'sovereign' in relation to our internet identities. The term "Self Sovereign Identity" started becoming widely used in 2014.[[**ϟ**](https://www.tokencommons.org/Windhover-Principles-for-Digital-Identity-Trust-Data.html)][[**ϟ**](https://hubculture.com/hubs/47/news/689/)]
* [Sovrin Foundation Launches first dedicated Self Sovereign Identity Network](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sovrin-foundation-launches-first-dedicated-self-sovereign-identity-network-300336702.html) 



### Assorted

* <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristopherA/status/989120215702261761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/f3FlznM.png"/></a>
* <a href="https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1072160446180810752"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/tNvN7vV.png"/></a>
* [There’s A Facebook Alternative, It’s Called Self-Sovereign Identity](https://www.coindesk.com/theres-alternative-facebook-called-self-sovereign-identity) —coindesk
* [A Universal Resolver for self-sovereign identifiers](https://medium.com/DecentralizedIDentity/a-universal-resolver-for-self-sovereign-identifiers-48e6b4a5cc3c) [[**G**](https://github.com/DecentralizedIDentity/universal-resolver)] [[**>**](#Decentralized-Identity-Foundation)]
  * [uniresolver.io](https://uniresolver.io/)


### Resources

* [SSIMeetup](http://ssimeetup.org/) [[**S**](https://www.slideshare.net/SSIMeetup/presentations)] [[**V**](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSqSTlKdbbCM1muGOhDa3Og)] [[**tele**](https://t.me/SSIMeetup)]
\- SSI Meetup is an open, collaborative community to help SSI evangelists around the world, independent of company interests or standards. 
* [WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-id](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity)
* [Self-Sovereign Identity — wiki.p2pfoundation](https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Self-Sovereign_Identity)


