Identityclass

Identityclass is a concept used in certain Linked Data and decentralized web contexts to categorize an identity resource into a qualitative class, such as person, organization, or group. It functions as a way to describe the nature of an identity beyond the identity’s unique identifier (for example, a WebID or other URI) and to support automated reasoning, user interface decisions, and access-control logic.

In practical terms, identityclass appears in profile metadata and type-index documents within ecosystems like the Solid project and related identity ecosystems. It is used to attach a categorical class to an identity resource, enabling clients to distinguish between different kinds of identities and to apply appropriate handling, display, or permissions. The approach emphasizes semantic clarity and interoperability by providing a standardized means to express what kind of entity is represented by a given identity resource.

Common values associated with identityclass include categories such as Person, Organization, and Group. These values may be drawn from a small, shared vocabulary defined by the identity ecosystem in use, and they can be extended to cover other kinds of identities as needed. The exact terminology and URIs used to denote these classes can vary by implementation, but the underlying goal remains consistent: to offer a lightweight, machine-readable classification that supports federation, discovery, and policy decisions.

Relation to broader standards: identityclass is typically discussed alongside related topics such as WebID, FOAF, and the public type index in Solid, where identity data and its classifications are published and discovered. See also Solid, WebID, Public Type Index, FOAF, and RDF vocabularies for identity and type classification.