This is Part 3 of our web series on the evolution of the internet. For further insights, check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Key Takeaways:

• Web5 is an ultra-decentralized vision of the internet. In Web5, users hold complete control over their data and online identities.
• Its framework revolves around Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs), enabling independent management of online identities.
• Unlike Web3, which decentralizes the internet, Web5 specifically emphasizes data ownership and full user control over personal information.
• As legislative focus on privacy grows, Web5 presents a potential solution for user-centric data control and enhanced privacy in the digital world.

Web5: The Ultra Decentralized Web

In the wake of Web3’s emergence, a crucial question has emerged: who truly holds control over users’ data on the internet? While Web3 enthusiasts have championed its promise of decentralization, doubts persist about whether users truly own and govern their personal information. Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and a vocal critic of Web3’s implementation, has echoed these concerns, asserting that “You don’t own ‘Web3.‘ The VCs and their LPs [venture capitalists and limited partners] do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label.”

Dorsey’s bold statement sparked a heated debate, and the issue of true decentralization became a major hurdle for Web3’s purported next phase. To address these concerns and redefine the concept of decentralized web, Dorsey proposed Web5, a vision for a more user-centric internet where individuals have complete control over their data and online identities.

Web5 aims to fulfill the promise of Web3 by decoupling data from applications and placing ownership directly in the hands of users. By utilizing decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and decentralized data storage (DIDs), Web5 empowers individuals to seamlessly manage their online presence and maintain control over their personal information.

What Is Web5?

In June 2022, Jack Dorsey’s team at TBD introduced Web5, a concept aiming to redefine the future of the internet. Web5 merges the best aspects of Web2 (user-centricity) and Web3 (decentralization), creating a platform where users control their data and online identities.

Web5 is an extra decentralized phase of the internet as data storage isn’t just moved away from individual apps or centralized storage silos to individual user control. This addresses shortcomings of previous Web iterations, particularly Dorsey’s critiques of Web3’s lack of transparency and true decentralization.

Web5 strives to bridge this gap by combining Web2’s ethical principles with Web3’s decentralized structure. It’s a direct response to concerns about centralized control in current Web3 models.

What Are the Four Pillars of Web5?

Web5 goes beyond the “decentralization” mantra into actual implementation. The team developing this protocol is focused on building a solid foundation to ensure that this new phase of the web is truly decentralized, not just a marketing tactic aimed at unobservant users. Jack Dorsey, a key proponent of Web5, has made it clear that his goal is to return control of data to the people.

This was further confirmed when one of Jack’s followers posed a question asking, “if scientists led Web 1.0, techno-entrepreneurs championed Web 2.0, and venture capitalists are driving Web 3.0, who will control Web5?” Jack replied simply: “the people.” Whether this ultra-decentralized vision becomes a reality remains to be seen.

Web5 and Web3 differ significantly in their architecture and operations. While Web5 is still in its infancy, it’s essential to explore the frameworks and protocols on which it is built.

The four key pillars of Web5 are:

1. Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs)

DIDs are globally unique identifiers that empower users to control their own identities. Unlike centralized third-party identifiers like email addresses or phone numbers, which are siloed within specific ecosystems, users control how their identities and personal information are shared, used, and accessed.

In Web5, a user’s DID links their identity to their data via Decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs). This cuts users off from centralized data storage, granting them full control over their data. Public blockchains facilitate the connection between DIDs, DWNs, and other Web5 frameworks, ensuring that only the DID interacts with the public blockchain—not user data, apps, or websites.

2. Verifiable Credentials (VCs)

Verifiable credentials are tamper-proof, cryptographically secure digital credentials that authenticate a user’s identity. VCs serve as digital equivalents of traditional IDs, such as passports or driver’s licenses, and are linked to a user’s DID to ensure credibility and establish genuine digital identities.

For example, on Web 2.0, when users register with PayPal, they provide an email address as a third-party identifier. To unlock full access, users must undergo ID verification by submitting government-issued identification. In Web5, this ID verification would be handled by VCs, securely proving the user’s identity without relying on centralized platforms.

3. Decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs)

Decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs) form a distributed network where users host and serve content without a central authority. DWNs function as data storage and messaging systems, enabling peer-to-peer (P2P) communication between users while maintaining control over their data.

DWNs synchronize user data across multiple nodes, allowing users to securely manage their data while interacting with other apps, services, and users. This decentralized infrastructure supports Decentralized Web Apps (DWAs) and DIDs, ensuring data privacy and user control across the Web5 ecosystem.

4. Decentralized Web Apps (DWAs)

Decentralized Web Apps (DWAs) are decentralized versions of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). Like PWAs, DWAs are web-based applications that function similarly to native apps but operate on decentralized servers (DWNs) instead of centralized ones.

Unlike PWAs, which rely on a centralized server for operation, DWAs use decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs) for data storage and communication, ensuring enhanced security and privacy for users. DWAs also allow developers to focus on delivering superior user experiences, while DWNs handle data management and access control.

What Are the Benefits of DWAs?

DWAs can be launched without a centralized server since data is stored on DWNs. This decentralization allows developers to focus on building feature-rich applications without worrying about data storage or security. Decentralized Web Apps access DWNs only when necessary, and users control whether to grant access to their private data.

For instance, consider downloading WhatsApp for the first time to share vacation pictures. WhatsApp would request access to your local storage to retrieve the images, but the control to grant or deny that permission remains with you. Without permission, WhatsApp cannot access your photos. This level of control mirrors how DWAs function: your data is stored on your DWN, and apps must request access before interacting with it.

What’s the Difference Between Web3 and Web5?

Table Comparison of Web 3.0 and Web 5.0

Criteria	Web 3.0	Web 5.0
Blockchain Implementation	Developers deploy application logic in the form of smart contracts on Blockchain platforms such as Ethereum.	Developers build applications individually, while Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) are the only component of Web5 that interacts with the Blockchain (Bitcoin).
Apps	Apps are “Decentralized applications (DApps)” because developers deploy them on decentralized networks.	In 5.0, we call apps “Decentralized Web Apps (DWAs)” because they enhance normal web apps with DIDs and equip them with external data storage capabilities (dWeb nodes—DWN).
Complete Decentralization	Web3 is decentralized but not at the same level as Web5. Web3 is said to have traces of centralization because data are stored on centralized third parties like OpenSea or Coinbase. The storages are decentralized as third parties but centralized as individual entities.	Web5 is an extra decentralized phase of the internet as data storage isn’t just moved away from individual apps or centralized storage silos to third parties like OpenSea and Coinbase. Rather, users can host their data, as total control of where and how to save the data is given to users.
Servers/Storage	Data is stored on decentralized off-chain storage silos.	Individuals can host their data on Decentralized Web Nodes (DWN).
Data Ownership	Through non-fungible tokens (NFTs), users have control over their data as it is ties to their identity.	Users own their data which is isolated from the apps, blockchains, or platforms they use and stored on DWNs.
Native Tokens	Most blockchains hosting Web3 apps or platforms offer native tokens.	Does not need a native token, nor is there any native token in sight yet.
Transaction and Operation	Does not use DIDs; instead, it uses native tokens of the blockchains where it is deployed.	Web5 uses DIDs representing an entity’s cryptographic state on a decentralized ledger.
Architecture	Web3 appears to be a total replacement or alternative to the present Web2.	Web5 combines the present Web2 structures with a complete decentralization that Web3 proposes’.

Conclusion

The web was created more than three decades ago. Due to the web, numerous developments have occurred across many industries, but privacy remains a bone of contention. The privacy subject is so important that legislators have been focusing in that direction with policies and legislations, one of the latest being the CPRA — California Privacy Right Act.

Without legislation, Web5 seems to be the only web with the architecture that delivers true decentralization. In terms of true decentralization, it solves privacy issues, gives users control over data, and makes companies the ones requesting consumers’ data, with consumers having the right to refuse. Will this be a reality? Jack Dorsey and the future will prove that to the world.

Identity.com

Among our goals at Identity.com is a user-centric internet, where users are in control of their data–this makes us support true decentralization of users’ data. More reason why Identity.com doesn’t take the back seat in contributing to this future via identity management systems and protocols.

The work of Identity.com as a future-oriented company is helping many businesses by giving their customers a hassle-free identity verification process. Identity.com is an open-source ecosystem providing access to on-chain and secure identity verification. Our solutions improve the user experience and reduce onboarding friction through reusable and interoperable Gateway Passes. Please get in touch or visit our FAQs page for more info about how we can help you with identity verification and general KYC processes.