# WebID **WebID** is a decentralized identifier standard that uses HTTP URIs to uniquely identify users on the web. It's a foundational component of [[Solid]] and the [[Solid Protocol]], enabling self-sovereign identity without relying on centralized providers. ## Key Characteristics - **Globally Unique**: Each WebID is a unique HTTP URI (e.g., `https://alice.example.com/profile/card#me`) - **Dereferenceable**: The URI resolves to a profile document containing the user's public data - **Decentralized**: Users own their identifier; no central authority issues WebIDs - **RDF-based**: Profile documents use RDF (typically Turtle) for semantic interoperability - **Linked**: Profiles can reference other WebIDs, building a web of trust ## Profile Document A WebID Profile contains: - Public key information for cryptographic verification - Personal metadata (name, friends, preferences) - Storage locations (pod URLs) - Authentication endpoints - Extensible via RDF vocabularies (FOAF, Schema.org, etc.) ## Authentication Methods - **WebID-OIDC** (now [[Solid OIDC]]): OpenID Connect-based authentication - **WebID-TLS** (legacy): Client certificate-based authentication ## Use Cases - User identification across [[Solid]] applications - Authentication without passwords or centralized identity providers - Building decentralized social networks - Cross-platform data ownership ## Resources - W3C WebID spec: https://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/webid/spec/ - WebID at solidproject.org: https://solidproject.org/users/get-a-pod - Developer guide: https://dev.solidproject.org/ ## References - https://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/webid/spec/ ## Related - [[Solid]] - [[Solid Protocol]] - [[Solid OIDC]] - [[Web Access Control (WAC)]]