What's the Point of Web5?  ## Metadata - Author: [[DEV Community]] - Full Title: What's the Point of Web5? - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #web5 - #selfsovereignidentity - #decentralizedidentity - #did - #decentralizedapps - #wordPress - #opensource - #education - #developeradvocacy Author: DEV Community Source: DEV Community article Reference: https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb date created: 2025-08-22 00:00 --- # Title: What’s the point of Web5? ## Table of Contents: - [📚 Meet Dawson](#-meet-dawson) - [📢 The Meeting](#-the-meeting) - [⚠️ The Ultimate Crisis — a stolen username](#️-the-ultimate-crisis--a-stolen-username) - [🧭 What exactly is Web5?](#-what-exactly-is-web5) - [🎯 What is the point of Web5?](#-what-is-the-point-of-web5) - [🔐 Why own your digital identity?](#-why-own-your-digital-identity) - [🆔 What is a Decentralized Identifier (DID)?](#-what-is-a-decentralized-identifier-did) - [🧪 Experimenting with Web5 (Web5.js)](#-experimenting-with-web5-web5js) - [❓ Dawson’s Remaining Questions](#-dawsons-remaining-questions) - [📖 References](#-references) ### References: Include a list of sources consulted and cited in the article. - TBD / Block Web5 docs (overview of SSI, DIDs, DWNs) - W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DID) Core Specification ## 📝 Summary: The article narrates Dawson Webhart’s introduction to Web5 after her company announces a transition. Initially skeptical, she becomes curious—especially after a social media platform’s CEO effectively “steals” her handle, highlighting the fragility of platform-owned identities. Web5, an incubator project from TBD (Block), offers tools for self-sovereign identity, decentralized data storage, and secure peer-to-peer communication. Through a simple Web5.js example, Dawson creates a DID and starts imagining apps where users truly own their identities and data across contexts like social media, healthcare, and banking. She ends the day with key questions about storage, aliases, framework integration, and broader capabilities. ## 📖 Main Content: Web5 reframes the web around user-owned identity and data. Rather than platform accounts controlling usernames, authentication, and content mobility, users hold portable identifiers (DIDs) anchored in open standards. Developers use Web5 tooling (Web5.js) to build apps that respect user consent and enable peer-to-peer or decentralized storage patterns, potentially lowering risk of vendor lock-in and improving privacy. The story uses Dawson’s handle-loss to illustrate why identity ownership matters, then walks through a first DID creation using Web5.js. Practical benefits span: - Social media: keep your handle, portability of social graph and content, privacy-respecting ads/data sharing choices. - Healthcare: user-controlled access to medical records, cross-institution continuity. - Banking: secure proofs of identity, privacy-preserving data access, fraud reduction. The article remains optimistic but acknowledges open questions: where to store DIDs, UX via memorable aliases, React/Next.js integration, and broader possibilities beyond identity. ### 🗒️ Notes - Meet Dawson - Frontend engineer at StyleByte; cautious about hype cycles. - Motivations: career growth and fairness in digital identity. - The Meeting - Company announces move to Web5; mixed reactions (excitement vs skepticism). - Promotion prospects spark Dawson’s curiosity. - The Ultimate Crisis — stolen username - Platform renames and claims @webheart; exposes platform power over user identity. - Illustrates need for self-sovereign identity. - What exactly is Web5? - Incubator by TBD (Block) focused on developer tooling for decentralized apps. - Emphasis on SSI, decentralized data, secure P2P. - Think of it as both ecosystem and toolbox (prebuilt identity, storage, comms). - What is the point of Web5? - Shift control from platforms to people; minimize lock-in. - Build privacy-first, user-centric experiences. - Why own your digital identity? - Social: handle ownership, portability of followers/content, granular data sharing. - Healthcare: user-held records, consent-based access, continuity of care. - Banking: verifiable identity proofs, selective disclosure, fraud reduction. - What is a DID? - W3C standard for decentralized identifiers. - Persistent, user-controlled; applies to people, orgs, and entities. - Experimenting with Web5 (Web5.js) - npm install @web5/api; create a DID with Web5.connect(); log the DID. - Result shows a did:ion… example with keys and DWN service endpoints. - Dawson’s Remaining Questions - DID storage, human-readable aliases, frontend integration patterns, broader capabilities. ## 📖 References: - W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DID) Core Specification: https://www.w3.org/TR/did-core/ - TBD’s Web5 overview: https://www.tbd.website/en/web5/ - Decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs) concept by DIF: https://identity.foundation/decentralized-web-node/spec/ ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: - Original idea: “Web5 is an evolving incubator project spearheaded by TBD... The goal is to equip developers with the essential tools for building decentralized applications that prioritize user control over identity and data.” - Paraphrase: Web5, developed under Block’s TBD unit, is an ongoing initiative to provide developers with practical building blocks for decentralized apps, centering on user-owned identity and data sovereignty. - Original idea: “A decentralized identifier (DID) is a w3c open standard... No one can take it away from you, and no one can change it.” - Paraphrase: A DID is an open W3C-standardized identifier that individuals or entities can hold independently of any platform, ensuring it can’t be revoked or altered by third parties. ## 📰 Newsletter: This week in learning web development: decentralization meets developer experience. Web5—an initiative from Block’s TBD—puts self-sovereign identity (SSI) and user-controlled data within reach of everyday JavaScript devs. Why should you care? Imagine usernames and social graphs you actually own, medical records you carry across providers, and banking verifications that reveal only what’s necessary. Quick start: with just npm install @web5/api and a few lines of code, you can mint a DID and begin building privacy-first apps. For WordPress and open-source folks, this could mean portable identities across sites, consent-driven data sharing, and fewer dark-pattern logins. Curious? Start with the W3C’s DID spec and TBD’s Web5 overview for a balanced dive into standards and tooling. Keep shipping, keep learning—and don’t let a platform “own” your handle again. - Learn more: W3C DID Core, TBD’s Web5 overview - New plugins spotlight: consider identity-related plugins that explore verifiable credentials and federated logins while prioritizing privacy. - Community highlights: contributors experimenting with SSI flows in JS frameworks—share your prototypes and lessons learned! ## ✅ Action Items: Prompt for aligning article analysis with your role and goals: “Analyze how this article advances open-source advocacy, contributor engagement, and education within the WordPress ecosystem and my trajectory toward OSPO leadership: - OSS alignment: Identify which Web5 components (DIDs, DWNs, SSI standards) are open standards or open implementations and how they model sustainable, community-led governance. - Contributor pathways: Propose contributor-friendly issues, example repos, docs improvements, and mentorship plans to onboard new contributors to identity-related tooling in JS and WordPress. - Educational impact: Outline workshops, curricula, and labs bridging PHP/JS/WordPress with Web5 concepts (DIDs, verifiable credentials), emphasizing accessibility and inclusive pedagogy. - OSPO readiness: Map risks (vendor lock-in, standard maturity, privacy regs) and governance strategies (policy, compliance, contribution guidelines) to support responsible adoption. - Transparency & inclusivity: Define communication plans, community codes of conduct, and funding strategies that sustain diverse participation and long-term maintenance. - On/off-stage evangelism: Draft talk abstracts and hands-on demos that connect identity ownership to real WordPress use cases (portable profiles, comments, memberships) with clear success metrics.” - Summary: Web5 is an evolving incubator project that aims to equip developers with tools for building decentralized applications that prioritize user control over identity and data. It offers a suite of tools and APIs for implementing self-sovereign identity, decentralized data storage, and secure peer-to-peer communication. The goal is to enable users to have full control and ownership over their digital identities, which has benefits in areas such as social media, healthcare systems, and banking. Developers can build web5 applications using the web5.js SDK, and decentralized identifiers (DIDs) are used to verify and identify users on the web. Further documentation is available for those who want to learn more about Web5. - URL: https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb #### Table of Contents * [Meet Dawson](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#meet-dawson) * [The Meeting](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#the-meeting) * [The Ultimate Crisis - a stolen username](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#the-ultimate-crisis---a-stolen-username) * [What exactly is Web5?](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#what-exactly-is-web5) * [What is the point of Web5?](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#what-is-the-point-of-web5) * [Why would someone need ownership over their digital identity?](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#why-would-someone-need-ownership-over-their-digital-identity) * [How can you build a decentralized app using Web5?](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#how-can-you-build-a-decentralized-app-using-web5) * [What is a Decentralized Identifier?](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#what-is-a-decentralized-identifier) * [Experimenting with web5](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#she-experimented-with-did-by-executing-the-steps-below-you-can-do-it-too-) + [Creating a directory via her terminal](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#creating-a-directory-via-her-terminal) + [Installing the web5.js SDK](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#installing-the-web5js-sdk) + [Verifying her package.json looked like this:](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#verifying-her-packagejson-looked-like-this) + [Creating an index.js file](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#creating-an-indexjs-file) + [Importing the Web5 package in our pages/index.js file](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#importing-the-web5-package-in-our-pagesindexjs-file) + [Creating a decentralized identifier](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#creating-a-decentralized-identifier) + [Logging the decentralized identifier](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#logging-the-decentralized-identifier) + [Running this command in her terminal](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#running-this-command-in-her-terminal) + [Here’s her result](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#heres-her-result) * [Dawson's Remaining Questions](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#dawsons-remaining-questions) * [Documentation and Further Reading](https://dev.to/tbdevs/whats-the-point-of-web5-2kjb#documentation-and-further-reading) #### Meet Dawson Meet Dawson Webhart, a software engineer who's part of the frontend team at StyleByte, a cutting-edge fashion company that uses augmented reality to style its customers. The team focuses on the part of the app that users see and interact with, and Dawson is a key contributor. [](https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--13uEzTos--/c_limit%2Cf_auto%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto%2Cw_800/https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/tfzrlzrsxwsr5dvqph1z.jpeg) Today, Dawson is at her desk, but she's not exactly working. She's scrolling through her phone, watching short workout videos to inspire her next gym session. "Here are my top 10 tips to getting a peach like Megan Thee Stallion," says the fitness instructor on the video. Dawson rolls her eyes just as her co-worker, Nadia Noelly, bursts into her office. "Hey, Dawson! The meeting is starting soon, and I want to get there early. They're making a big announcement!" "Another announcement? What now? More ping pong tables in the lounge?" Dawson sighs, not particularly thrilled but curious enough to find out. #### The Meeting In the meeting room, the atmosphere is electric and cult-like as every tech company is. StyleByte's Vice President of Engineering, Wilson, takes the stage. "We're moving to Web5," he announces. While Nadia's eyes beam with excitement, Dawson feels a mixture of concern, exhaustion, and frustration. "Web5? We just integrated Augmented Reality, migrated to the cloud, and now this? What even is Web5?" Dawson has always been cautious about change, especially when it comes to technology. She tunes out for the rest of the meeting, pondering what this shift could mean for her work. [](https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--O6X_0WCa--/c_limit%2Cf_auto%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto%2Cw_800/https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/v8fcn6n3p2j5k633xf74.jpeg) After the meeting, Nadia is practically buzzing. "Wasn't that cool? We're moving to Web5! You know what that means, right?" "More late nights and stress?" Dawson sarcastically replies. "No, silly! A promotion! We could lead this initiative and finally drop our 'junior' titles. How does 'Mid Level Developer' sound?" For the first time, Dawson feels a spark of interest. She's been at StyleByte for three years without a promotion. "Okay, you've got my attention. But what is Web5?" "Weren't you listening? They emailed us the presentation. Check it out," Nadia says, already halfway out the door. Back in her office, Dawson opens the presentation and finds a diagram explaining the evolution of the web:  * Web 1.0: Static, read-only content. * Web 2.0: Interactive, social, and user-generated content. * Web3: Decentralized, blockchain-based, user-controlled data. * Web5: Enhanced decentralization, peer-to-peer communication, and self-sovereign identity. Dawson finds it interesting but isn't entirely convinced. "Seems like a solution looking for a problem," she thinks. #### The Ultimate Crisis - a stolen username Just then, a notification pops up on her phone. It's from her favorite social media app, Incognito. Incognito’s new and very erratic CEO, Francis Francino, has just announced a name change for the app—to WebHeart. She goes back to scrolling on her phone. This time she's using her favorite social media app – Incognito. Suddenly, an announcement from the new and very erratic CEO, Francis Francino, pops up on her feed. “We will be changing this app’s name to WebHeart because it exemplifies what this company has evolved into. We capture the heart of the web. We will be changing our username to @webheart to reflect that.” [](https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--MSkOiToI--/c_limit%2Cf_auto%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto%2Cw_800/https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/o4k2mfgkymfeasnkcym5.jpeg) Dawson's eyes widen in disbelief. "@webheart" was her own username, a clever play on her last name, Webhart, and her role as a frontend web developer focused on enhancing user experience. She quickly replies to the announcement, "Hey, that's my username!" Francis Francino responds almost immediately, "Oh, too bad. How about some free merchandise to make up for it?" Nadia texts her, "Sorry to hear that. If we were on the decentralized web, this wouldn't have happened. Your username would've been yours, controlled by a Decentralized Identifier. Look it up." Dawson feels gutted. That didn’t console her at all. [](https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--GeqcC6kx--/c_limit%2Cf_auto%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto%2Cw_800/https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/vdlxh08ii1dicw6z50l0.jpeg) Dawson feels a mix of indignation and inspiration. If there's anything that fuels her, it's the prospect of ***revenge served cold and promotions served hot***. She decides to dive deeper into Web5. Maybe she could build a transparent social media platform where usernames are truly owned by users. Or maybe she'll snag that promotion. Either way, Dawson is now on a mission. Throughout her research, Dawson asked the following questions: ##### What exactly is Web5? Web5 is an evolving incubator project spearheaded by TBD, Block's newest business unit. The goal is to equip developers with the essential tools for building decentralized applications that prioritize user control over identity and data. From Dawson’s perspective Web5 could be considered: * **Tooling**: Web5 provides a suite of tools and APIs designed for implementing Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), decentralized data storage, and secure peer-to-peer communication. This enables the creation of secure, user-centric, privacy-first applications. * **An Ecosystem**: Web5 is part of TBD's broader ecosystem, which aims to empower developers to create their own decentralized applications and protocols. * **Toolbox for Developers**: Web5 provides pre-built functionalities for identity management, data storage, and secure communication. This way developers can focus on building their application's features rather than worrying about the complexities of security and identity management. ##### What is the point of Web5? Web5 exists to enable Self Sovereign Identity. Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) is the concept that users should have full control and ownership over their digital identities. ##### Why would someone need ownership over their digital identity? Because we are not used to owning our digital identity, it may seem like a futile and foreign concept. Here are a few moments when ownership of digital identity is beneficial: * Social media: + There’s no way someone can steal your handle, just like what happened with Dawson's "@webheart" username. + You can take your followers and content with you if you decide to switch platforms. + You have full control over how your data is shared, reducing unwanted advertising and privacy breaches. * Healthcare systems + You can take your medical records with you, ensuring that you have access to your own health information wherever you go. + You control who has access to your medical data, making it more secure and private. * Banking + Your financial transactions are secure, and only you have access to your financial data. + You can easily prove your identity for online transactions, reducing the risk of fraud. ##### How can you build a decentralized app using Web5? You can build a web5 application using the web5.js SDK. ##### What is a Decentralized Identifier? A decentralized identifier (DID) is a w3c open standard. It’s represented a string of numbers and letters that identifies and verifies who you are on the web. No one can take it away from you, and no one can change it. A DID is not limited to just a person. It can point to an organization, data model, entity, or whatever it is that user is managing online. ##### She experimented with DID by executing the steps below (you can do it too 😉): **Creating a directory via her terminal** ``` mkdir decentralized-social-app cd decentralized-social-app ``` **Installing the web5.js SDK** ``` npm install @web5/api ``` **Verifying her package.json looked like this:** ``` { "dependencies": { "@web5/api": "0.8.1" }, "type": "module" } ``` **Creating an index.js file** ``` touch index.js ``` **Importing the Web5 package in our pages/index.js file** ``` import { Web5 } from '@web5/api'; ``` **Creating a decentralized identifier** ``` const { web5, did: dawsonDid } = await Web5.connect(); ``` **Logging the decentralized identifier** ``` console.log(dawsonDid); ``` **Running this command in her terminal** ``` node index.js ``` **Here’s her result** ``` did:ion:EiBiHtKwEIdrqLRph3id0HoyCeuk69t6oWbw38WbyYAjvQ: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 ``` #### Dawson's remaining questions Dawson was having so much fun learning until she realized it was 5:00 pm and her work day was over. She still had questions like, * Where should she store her DID? * Can she create an alias for her DID for ease-of-use and self-expression? * How does Web5 integrate with frameworks like React or Next.js? * What else could Web5 do? But Dawson has a rule: never work past 5:00 pm. Her quest for answers—and perhaps a little revenge—will have to wait another day... #### Documentation and further reading Check out the [documentation](https://developer.tbd.website/docs/) if you're hoping to learn more about Web5 before Dawson returns to work! 🤪 ##### Artist Credit I did not do any of the art. My little sister did. You can check out her work at: <https://linktr.ee/scribblndibbl>, What's the Point of Web5?, DEV Community, 01han1xjx3xckyxmv8ncydxsvx.