Today, the ICON Network made another step toward mass adoption with the release of “DPASS” on the Apple iOS Store (the Android version will be available by the end of the month, according to Ricky Dodds on Telegram).

According to ICON:

ICON DID (Decentralized Identifier), a decentralized identity authentication system based on the ICON public blockchain, has been developed as a live service. ICONLOOP’s ‘DPASS’ is a mobile application for a ‘Decentralized Passport’. This is a global authentication service that realizes the concept of ‘integrated identity’ and ‘Self-Sovereign’ using the ICON DID standards. It is expected that the convenience of using blockchain services will be greatly improved when DPASS is integrated with a variety of on/offline services.

Here is how the App is described on the DPASS website:

Blockchain identity verification

Securely deliver necessary information. Consolidate fragmented information into one place

Manage various certificates in one application. Stop worrying about information leakage

Securely store and retrieve your personal information. One ID, Use diversely

Use various kinds of services such as certification, access control.

DPASS was fairly easy to set up. First, I had to create a unique password to access my DID (decentralized identification) on my phone moving forward. I then had to verify my phone number and e-mail address, which links them to my DID.

Once I finished those steps, my DID was ready! The view I was given was similar to the adjacent image, which I took from the DPASS website. The only difference is that it listed Email, SMS, and Broof Certificate — of which I have none (yet!).

Now what?

At this point, there isn’t an immediate use for my DID, as I have no other documentation to incorporate.

However, that isn’t necessarily the case for everyone.

Let’s circle back around to “Broof.” ICON announced the release of the service in late May:

Based on the ICON public blockchain network, ‘broof(https://broof.io)’ supports certificate issuance, storage, and prevention of falsification. The issuing authorities can reduce the cost of issuing and storing paper documents without having to create a separate database system. Meanwhile, recipients can easily receive and view their blockchain based certificates anywhere and anytime.

Already, key institutions have utilized Broof to issue certificates:

“The Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Citizens Hall, POSTECH and Studypie have already used the blockchain certificate issuance service to appoint members and issue blockchain graduation certificates to students.”

You may remember the news story about the issuance of certificates by the Seoul Metropolitan Government:

ICONLOOP developed mobile letters of appointment for the Seoul Blockchain Governance Team. The letter can be issued and viewed through a Governance Team member’s personal cell phone (emphasis mine). A Governance Team member can issue a letter of appointment with a name, member identification number and membership terms after accepting the terms and conditions. Letter of appointment issuance records are stored on the ICON public blockchain, making falsification and fake issuance impossible. Authenticity of the record can be verified in the ICON Tracker by searching for a specific transaction.

It’s my presumption that, when a team member examined the letter with their cell phone, they were using an earlier, non-public version of DPASS to do so.

Here is a bit more on how it works:

Simply put, certificate issuances can occur when the listed data from the issuing authority corresponds with the requestor’s input data. “Once the issuing authority (company or institution) sets the approved recipient list, issuance period, and a URL, the recipient can access the URL and enter their name and password to obtain the certificate without going through other lengthy procedures.”

Let’s say your a university that wants to provide certificates of graduation on the blockchain — theoretically, all they would need is either the e-mail or phone number of the student (which they likely already have), and they could issue the certificates using Broof. The student — utilizing their e-mail address-could then claim the certificate, which would then be stored on their DPASS, where it would exist on the public blockchain and could be presented as proof of graduation when the student may be applying for a job, or applying for graduate school.

This has plenty of other applications, of course. Driver’s licenses, voter registration, passports (as shown on the image earlier in this article).

Update: After publication of this article, ICON officially announced the release of DPASS. Here was a key paragraph:

ICONLOOP aligns DPASS with ‘broof’, a blockchain-based certificate issuing service developed by ICONLOOP, enabling DPASS to store various blockchain-based certificates immune to fraud and counterfeit. And broof would not be the only case — DPASS will align with many online and offline services aiming to enhance the usability of blockchain services. ICONLOOP has been continuing conversation with ICON’s partner companies so that many DApps operating on the public network of ICON can also use DPASS.

Also included in the App is an ICX wallet. While this wallet has fewer features than the ICONex wallet we are used to, it’s still perfectly capable of easily sending and receiving ICX via QR code. I can envision a scenario in which an identification is presented to access a service at a physical location (a hospital, for instance), which then requires subsequent payment in ICX. Having the wallet in the same application makes this easier.

Credit: www.decrypto.net

You may be wondering: is this ChainID? The answer is: not quite. ChainID was designed primarily for use on private blockchain networks being built by ICONLOOP — but have the capability of interacting with the ICON Public chain. DPASS, meanwhile, is entirely on the public chain (as you can see in the adjacent image). That means, as we speak, ICX transaction fees are being generated as people create their DID.

While the number of entities issuing certificates is still limited — especially with Broof still in the beta stage — today’s release is still an exciting step for ICON and paves the way for continued adoption.