digitalrektaler

Digitalrektaler is a term encountered in discussions of digital identity and privacy to describe a hypothetical portable digital token that encodes an individual's consent preferences and selected identity attributes for use across online services. It is a neologism rather than a defined standard, and there is no universally accepted specification for what a digitalrektaler must contain or how it must operate.

Concept and mechanism: A digitalrektaler would function as a portable cryptographic wallet that stores verifiable credentials and supports selective disclosure. In such a model, users hold a digital key pair and can present verifiable credentials issued by trusted authorities. Services can verify these credentials without learning unnecessary personal data, potentially using zero-knowledge proofs for enhanced privacy. Issuance, revocation, and updates would be governed by the issuer and the user, with the user retaining control over what information is shared and with whom.

Applications: Potential uses include age or eligibility verification for restricted services, consent management for data processing, healthcare information sharing with patient control, and cross-platform data portability. The approach aims to reduce data leakage while maintaining trust between users and service providers.

Advantages and challenges: Proponents cite improved privacy, user control, and interoperability across platforms. Critics point to interoperability fragmentation, regulatory uncertainty, user experience, and the risk that users lose control if their devices are compromised or if key management is weak. As of now, digitalrektaler remains largely theoretical, with related concepts like self-sovereign identity and verifiable credentials actively explored in research and pilot programs.

See also: self-sovereign identity, verifiable credentials, digital wallet, privacy by design.