Digital identity

A method of providing access to digital profiles held in persistent electronic storage of a digital identity system, the method comprising:

• receiving from a requesting entity an electronic request message identifying a target entity;
• in response to the request, publishing:
• (i) a digital profile of the target entity by storing a version of that profile in an addressable memory location, and (ii) a digital profile of the requesting entity by storing a version of that profile in another addressable memory location;
• generating two non-matching receipts, each comprising a transaction identifier, a first of which comprises a link identifying the memory location to which the target entity's profile is published, the second of which comprises a link identifying the other memory location to which the requesting entity's profile is published;
• transmitting the first receipt to an address associated with the requesting entity;
• and
• transmitting the second receipt to an address associated with the target entity.

A computer system comprising:

• a network interface configured to transmit and receive electronic messages, and a processor configured to:
• capture the bearer credential by the validating device;
• transmit to a validation service the bearer credential with a validator credential bound to the validating device;
• at the validation service, validate the bearer credential and the validation credential, and if the validator credential is valid, using the bearer credential to access a data item of a digital profile and creating an electronic message for transmission to the validating device, the electronic message indicating the data item and comprising a fresh validator credential generated by the validation service;
• and
• issue a fresh bearer credential and creating an electronic message to transmit the fresh bearer credential to an address associated with the bearer.

A computer program product comprising computer readable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and, when executed, configured to implement a method comprising:

• capturing the bearer credential by the validating device;
• transmitting to a validation service the bearer credential with a validator credential bound to the validating device;
• at the validation service, validating the bearer credential and the validation credential, and if the validator credential is valid, using the bearer credential to access a data item of a digital profile and creating an electronic message for transmission to the validating device, the electronic message indicating the data item and comprising a fresh validator credential generated by the validation service;
• issuing a fresh bearer credential and creating an electronic message to transmit the fresh bearer credential to an address associated with the bearer.