Service for users to voluntarily self-identify in over the top (ott) messaging

A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that provides instructions that, if executed by a processor, will cause said processor to perform operations to enable a user to self-identify to a user support system when a user electronic device is connected to the user support system by an over-the-top (OTT) communication session where an OTT messaging service provides an anonymous identifier to the user support system to enable communication with the user, the operations comprising:

• receiving, at the identity service, a secured real identifier and a secured token from the user electronic device in response to a user selection to self-identify to the user support system;
• decrypting, at the identity service, the secured real identifier to determine a real identifier that identifies user account information at an external system;
• determining, at the identity service, the anonymous identifier for the user using the secured token to enable the identity service to send the real identifier to the user support system in a manner that associates the real identifier with the OTT communication session;
• and
• sending, by the identity service, the real identifier to the user support system in the manner that associates the real identifier with the OTT communication session to enable access to the user account information by the user support system.

An apparatus comprising:

• an electronic device comprising:
• a non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored therein an identity service method to enable a user to self-identify to a user support system when a user electronic device is connected to the user support system by an over-the-top (OTT) communication session where an OTT messaging service provides an anonymous identifier to the user support system to enable communication with the user;
• and
• a processor coupled to the non-transitory machine-readable medium, wherein the processor executes the identity service, the identity service to receive a secured real identifier and a secured token from the user electronic device in response to a user selection to self-identify to the user support system, to decrypt the secured real identifier to determine a real identifier that identifies user account information at an external system, to determine the anonymous identifier for the user using the secured token to enable the identity service to send the real identifier to the user support system in a manner that associates the real identifier with the OTT communication session, and to send the real identifier to the user support system in the manner that associates the real identifier with the OTT communication session to enable access to the user account information by the user support system.