Did web

Unofficial Draft 31 July 2024

Abstract

DIDs that target a distributed ledger face significant practical challenges in bootstrapping enough meaningful trusted data around identities to incentivize mass adoption. We propose a new DID method using a web domain's existing reputation.

ATProto

Supported by ATProtocol, with some constraints:

did:web, which is a W3C standard based on HTTPS (and DNS). The identifier section is a hostname. This method is supported in atproto to provide an independent alternative to did:plc DID PLC. The method is inherently tied to the domain name used, and does not provide a mechanism for migration or recovering from loss of control of the domain name. In the context of atproto, only hostname-level did:web DIDs are supported: path-based DIDs are not supported. The same restrictions on top-level domains that apply to handles (eg, no .arpa) also apply to did:web domains. The special localhost hostname is allowed, but only in testing and development environments. Port numbers (with separating colon hex-encoded) are only allowed for localhost, and only in testing and development. atproto.com/specs/did