Web5 is a new idea for a decentralized Internet created by TBD, the Bitcoin branch of Jack Dorsey’s Block (previously Square). Personal data protection is the center of the system, which is solely based on Bitcoin. Its primary goal is to provide user control over their data and identity. “The web democratized information exchange, but it is missing a vital layer: identification,” TBD observed. With hundreds of accounts and passwords we can’t remember, we struggle to secure personal data.” Identity and personal data are now the property of third parties on the internet.”
Dorsey has long been an opponent of Web3. While Web3 is focused on decentralization, Dorsey stated that it is predicated on “single point of failure technologies,” citing Solana and Ethereum. He went on to say that Web3 is founded on “lies being made to consumers about who owns and controls it.” In sum, Web3 isn’t fully decentralized, according to Dorsey. Instead of being owned by users, it is owned by a group of venture investors and limited partners. In December 2021, he cautioned, “It’s ultimately a centralized organization with a different label.” “Be aware of what you’re putting yourself into. Meanwhile, Web5 intends to address these difficulties. “Web5 delivers decentralized identity and data storage to your applications,” said TBD.
How Does Web5 Work?
Web5, a decentralized web platform, employs wallets, decentralized IDs, verifiable credentials, decentralized web nodes (DWNS), and decentralized web apps (DWAS). Finally, the platform intends to provide two use cases: allowing users to “own their data” and “manage their identity.”
TBD demonstrated how individuals can utilize Web5 to control their identities through an example. Consider Alice, who has a digital wallet that protects her identity, data, and authorizations for external apps and connections. Consider the following scenario: Alice uses her wallet to sign into a decentralized social media platform.
She no longer has to make a profile on the app because she connected to it using her decentralized identity. Furthermore, she can keep all of her connections, postings, relationships, and other information in her DWNS. DWNS is a personal data store that allows you to store both public and encrypted data. She can then switch between dApps whenever she wishes, giving her complete control over her identity.
The next use case is data ownership by users. Consider Bob, a music fan who “hates having his personal data confined to a single source.” This means he’ll have to recreate his playlists in various music apps over and over again. So, what’s the answer? Bob can store his info in his DWNS rather than across different apps. In this way, he can grant access to his settings and preferences to any music app. This gives him the freedom to take his personalized music experience wherever he wants while still owning his data.
What are the benefits and limitations of Web5?
Web5 contains a number of features that will enhance the user experience. The most essential of these are the internet’s emotive aspects and users’ capacity to control their identity and data.
List of features:
- Control of your own identity
- Own your data
- Emotive elements of the internet
Let’s go over each one briefly.
1. Control of your own identity
Here’s an easy example to demonstrate this notion. Consider a digital wallet in which you may securely manage your personal data, authorizations, and identification for external apps and sites.
When you register for a third-party app (for example, Instagram), you do not need to create a profile or give your data to third-party services. Instead, you can utilize your digital wallet, and all of your personal information will remain with you regardless of which app you use.
2. Own your data
All of your data can be stored on decentralized web nodes with Web5. Assume you utilize a social app (in our scenario, Instagram) with several posts and relationships. When you switch to another application, all of your social identity follows you, which means you have complete control over all of the data you share.
3. Emotive elements of the internet
Web5 is projected to be capable of sensing, recording, and communicating the whole range of human emotions, allowing each user to have a tailored experience. This concept is similar to smart home gadgets, which use the power of the Internet of Things to give a personalized experience while automating operations like adjusting the thermostat or turning on and off lights.
The main constraint of Web5 is that the concept is still in its infancy, making it difficult to forecast whether or not it will develop as expected.
When Will Web5 Be Available?
Web5 is currently under open-source development. The official release date has yet to be announced by TBD. Mike Brock, Head of TBD, has verified, however, that there are no tokens available for investment in Web5. As we all know, NFTs and other tokens play an important role in Web3.
Brock also took a shot at Web3
“Some people appear to believe we are joking about web5, and that we are not seriously working on it.” I can assure you that we are actively working on it. Unlike web3, it will actually exist.” While Web5 appears to be promising, it is too early to predict how things will unfold and what it will bring to the table.
