Twala ID
Privacy-focused, consent-driven digital identity for sharing and using identity information across web 2.0 and web 3.0 ecosystems — with selective disclosure so users prove what's needed without exposing what isn't.
Visit siteThe problem
Identity providers own the user's data. Every login is a leak; every credential reuse is a risk. Consumers have no way to selectively disclose identity attributes — they hand over the whole file when a service only needs one attribute. The result is a stack of Web2 identity providers accumulating data they don't need and holding it against ever-shifting breach risk. Decentralized identity primitives (DIDs, verifiable credentials, selective disclosure) fix this at the protocol level. Implementing them in a way that works across Web2 and Web3 without asking users to become identity experts is the engineering domain.
Key challenges
Decentralized identity has interoperability problems in every direction. DID methods proliferate. Verifiable credential formats vary. Web2 systems expect OAuth-style flows; Web3 systems expect wallet-signed proofs. A production DI platform has to abstract these differences without hiding the guarantees users are supposed to get from them.
What we built
AR Data delivered engineering on Twala ID — decentralized identity primitives that let users prove attributes (age, residency, KYC) without disclosing underlying data. Interoperates across Web2 and Web3 through appropriate proof presentations per context. Users hold their credentials in a wallet they control. When a service asks for proof of an attribute, the wallet presents the specific proof required without revealing the underlying document. Web2 integrations use OAuth-style flows with the wallet acting as a signer; Web3 integrations use direct wallet signing.
Our approach
- 1
User-held credentials, not provider-held
Credentials live in the user's wallet, not on a provider's server. This is the fundamental primitive that changes the risk model.
- 2
Selective disclosure per request
Services see the proof of the attribute they need, not the underlying document. This is the property that eliminates identity data hoarding.
- 3
Web2 and Web3 interop via appropriate flows
Web2 services expect OAuth patterns; Web3 services expect wallet signing. Supporting both without conflating them is what makes the platform actually usable.
- 4
Standard DID methods and VC formats
Standards adoption is what makes the platform interoperable with the broader ecosystem. Custom identifiers create silos.
Key architectural decisions
User-held credentials as the primitive
Provider-held credentials perpetuate the problem. User-held is what changes the model.
Selective disclosure over full-file transfer
Full-file transfer defeats the point. Selective disclosure per request is the whole value.
Web2 and Web3 flows both supported
Real-world usage spans both worlds. A DI product that only serves one loses relevance.
Standard DID methods and VC formats
Standards adoption over custom identifiers preserves interop across the ecosystem.
Results
- Selective disclosure identity primitives in production
- Web2 + Web3 interoperability via appropriate proof presentations
- User-owned identity records held in user-controlled wallets
- Standard DID methods and VC formats for ecosystem interop
- Elimination of provider-side identity data accumulation
Impact
Twala ID is a working answer to the "why do you have my whole ID when you only needed my age" problem. The engineering choices — user-held credentials, selective disclosure, standard DID/VC formats — are the shape any credible decentralized identity product has to take.
Tech stack
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