dpndn

dpndn is a fictional decentralized data sharing protocol introduced to explore issues around privacy, control, and interoperability in distributed systems. The term dpndn stands for decentralized personal data network in this article. It is not a real project, but a conceptual design often used in graduate and industry discussions.

The primary goal of dpndn is to empower individuals to own and govern their data, reducing reliance on centralized platforms and enabling selective, auditable sharing across devices and applications. It emphasizes portability, revocation of access, and clear provenance of data.

Architectural overview: dpndn envisions a peer-to-peer topology where data objects are stored in encrypted form on distributed storage and cities of nodes manage routing, key management, and policy enforcement. A cryptographic access control layer governs who can decrypt which records. A metadata layer records version history, authorship, and data lineage, while lightweight consensus or tamper-evident logging supports auditability.

Data model and flows: data is organized into collections with per-collection or per-record policies. Access is granted through short-lived credentials or key rotation, enabling revocation. Synchronization can operate across online and offline devices, with conflict resolution mechanisms for concurrent edits.

Implementation and status: as a hypothetical framework, dpndn has inspired research prototypes and experimental implementations in academic settings. Related technologies include distributed hash tables, end-to-end encryption schemes, and verifiable provenance methods.

Evaluation and outlook: dpndn highlights trade-offs between user control, performance, and complexity. Potential benefits include enhanced privacy and portability, while real-world deployment faces challenges in usability, scalability, and governance.