First Person Project / Network
Identity System / Design
Community
Details
License Open source (built on open standards: W3C DID, W3C VC, ToIP stack, Trust Spanning Protocol; specific implementations via LFDT components; licenses TBD)
Dev Status 🔨 WIP
Dev Status Detail Early Implementation/Standardization (Decentralized Trust Graph Working Group (DTGWG) established as joint ToIP-DIF Working Group for standardization; Linux Kernel pilot underway; trust communities being recruited; FPNC digital cooperative being established)
Owner First Person Project (multi-stakeholder collaboration led by Drummond Reed); collaborating LF projects: LF Decentralized Trust (LFDT), Trust Over IP (ToIP), Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF), and OpenWallet Foundation (OWF); additional partners: Ayra Association, Customer Commons; planned: First Person Network Cooperative (FPNC) as governing digital cooperative
Governing Body Multi-stakeholder consortium (LF Decentralized Trust, ToIP, DIF, OpenWallet Foundation, Ayra Association and Customer Commons; planned First Person Network entity)
Country International (USA-based founders, global scope)
Start Year 2024
Stack Implementation-dependent (builds on Trust Over IP (ToIP) four-layer stack modeled after TCP/IP; Trust Spanning Protocol (TSP) as keystone protocol; LFDT components; zero-knowledge proof cryptography architecture being developed by LFDT CTO Hart Montgomery and Berkeley professor Dr. Sanjam Garg)
Funding Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust (LFDT) as organizational home; collaborating foundations: ToIP, DIF, OWF, Ayra Association, Customer Commons
Last Investigated Mar 9, 2026
Identity System / Design Attributes
Origins Trust infrastructure / Proof of personhood (motivated by generative AI's ability to impersonate humans defeating CAPTCHAs and robot tests; alternative to centralized biometric databases like Worldcoin; uses decentralized credential-based approach)
Database Decentralized (no centralized database; credentials stored in user digital wallets; each member keeps their own set of connections; like the Internet — not owned or operated by any single company or government)
Query Language N/A (credential verification via Trust Spanning Protocol and standard VC presentation/verification APIs)
Data Formats W3C Verifiable Credentials (PHCs and VRCs as new credential types within W3C VC standard; JSON-LD; zero-knowledge proof presentations)
Mobile Support Planned (compatible with smartphone digital wallets from Apple, Google, Samsung and other vendors)
Web Support Planned (browser-based verification; trust community portals)
Native Apps Planned (any W3C VC-compatible digital wallet application)
Terms Free open infrastructure (FPNC cooperative offers services to members including sovereign cloud services, private message routing, digital wallet backup/recovery, and First Person AI agents)
Funds Collaborative project funded by member organizations and Linux Foundation infrastructure; FPNC planned as self-sustaining digital cooperative
Based On Trust Over IP (ToIP) four-layer stack with Trust Spanning Protocol (TSP); W3C DID and W3C Verifiable Credentials standards; Personhood Credentials paper (August 2024); Verifiable Relationship Credentials paper (Ayra Association, January 2025); zero-knowledge proof cryptography
Authentication & Identity Decentralized Identity (DIDs) with two new credential types: Personhood Credentials (PHCs — issued by any ecosystem that can attest holder is a real unique person within that ecosystem, e.g., governments, employers, universities, nonprofits) and Verifiable Relationship Credentials (VRCs — issued peer-to-peer between PHC holders to attest to verifiable first-person trust relationships, like digital business cards). Threshold-based: progressive accumulation of PHCs and VRCs makes impersonation increasingly difficult
Storage Model User wallet only (decentralized; each member controls their own portable subgraph of trust relationships in their own digital agents and wallets); FPNC sovereign cloud services planned for convenient messaging and data exchange without third-party surveillance
Interoperability High: any W3C VC-compatible wallet; ToIP-compatible systems; standardized via Decentralized Trust Graph Working Group (DTGWG) as joint ToIP-DIF participation Working Group; interoperability across all five layers of credential lifecycle (identifiers, credentials, wallets/agents, ecosystems, trust networks)
Data Portability Full portability (standard W3C VCs; wallet-to-wallet; no platform lock-in; credentials portable across all compatible ecosystems)
Governance & Decision Making Multi-stakeholder consortium (LFDT, ToIP, DIF, OWF, Ayra Association, Customer Commons) → planned First Person Network Cooperative (FPNC): digital cooperative established for exclusive purpose of developing, growing, and maintaining First Person Network as digital public utility; any individual or trust community who joins is qualified to join FPNC; FPNC establishes governance framework policies
Identity Standards W3C DID; W3C Verifiable Credentials; Trust Over IP (ToIP) four-layer stack; Trust Spanning Protocol (TSP); Personhood Credentials (PHCs); Verifiable Relationship Credentials (VRCs); zero-knowledge proof standards
Identity Standards - List
DID Methods Supported Multiple methods to be supported (implementation-dependent; uses cryptographically verifiable identifiers compatible with zero-knowledge cryptography; specific DID methods being specified by DTGWG)
Key Management User-controlled in digital wallets (implementation-dependent; FPNC offers digital wallet backup/recovery services to cooperative members)
Credential Types Personhood Credentials (PHCs — ecosystem-issued, attesting holder is real unique person in that ecosystem); Verifiable Relationship Credentials (VRCs — peer-to-peer, attesting verified first-person trust relationships); threshold-based presentation (show number of relationships exceeding certain thresholds without revealing specific relationships, similar to LinkedIn '500+ connections')
Credential Types - List
Verification Method Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs): can verify holder is a unique human with a certain threshold of trust relationships without learning anything more; cryptographic signature verification on credentials; no personal data shared during verification
Privacy Features Zero-knowledge proofs for all verification; selective disclosure; no global biometric database; no centralized credential database; local biometrics only (if used); pseudonymous threshold presentation (reveals relationship counts as thresholds, not specific relationships); no tracking or surveillance
Authentication Methods Cryptographic signatures on credentials; ZKP-based proof presentation; Trust Spanning Protocol for secure credential exchange; biometric verification is issuer-side only and local (not global database)
Revocation Mechanism To be specified by DTGWG (likely standard VC revocation mechanisms; credentials are bilateral — either party can terminate a VRC relationship)
Agent Types Supported Humans (personhood verification); Personal AI agents (First Person AI agents offered through FPNC — act exclusively in user's interest with no vendor conflict of interest; secure delegation via credentials); trust communities (organizational entities as PHC issuers)
Wallet/Client Types Any W3C VC-compatible digital wallet (Apple, Google, Samsung smartphone wallets; dedicated third-party wallets; FPNC cooperative wallet with backup/recovery)
Recovery Mechanisms FPNC services include digital wallet backup/recovery for cooperative members; otherwise wallet-dependent
Compliance / Regulations Privacy-preserving by design; supports Permissionless Entry (anyone can join without central approval) and Worldwide Participation (works across all jurisdictions); no global biometric database; credentials meet W3C standards for international interoperability
Credential Exchange Protocols Trust Spanning Protocol (TSP) for secure credential exchange; DIDComm (likely); W3C VC presentation/verification protocols; zero-knowledge proof presentation
Credential Exchange Protocols - List
Trust Framework Decentralized trust graph: collection of all First Person credential issuers and holders forms an interconnected web of verifiable first-person trust relationships; no central authority; trust is grounded in real-world relationships captured as cryptographic credentials; progressive trust strengthening through accumulating PHCs and VRCs from diverse ecosystems
Cost Model Free to users (FPNC cooperative offers services at lowest cost to members; ecosystem fund for network sustainability)
Censorship Resistance High (no central authority; decentralized like the Internet; credentials in user wallets; no centralized database to attack or censor; FPNC sovereign cloud services operated cooperatively without third-party terms of service)
Relationships
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