prófi

Prófi is a term used in speculative discussions of digital identity to describe a minimal, structured profile data object that can be shared across services while preserving user control. The word is a neologism rather than a widely adopted standard, and is often presented as a conceptual tool rather than a deployed protocol.

Definition and structure: A prófi is a data construct with core fields: id, kind, attributes, provenance, permissions, and expiration. It is designed to be interoperable across systems through common serializations such as JSON-LD or RDF. The design emphasizes data minimization, reusability, and clear consent metadata.

Variants: public prófi, private prófi; the former makes limited attributes visible to a service, the latter restricts sharing and requires explicit consent. Use cases include identity verification, personalization, and access control.

Interoperability and standards: Because prófi is a hypothetical construct, practical adoption would rely on shared schemas and governance. Advocates emphasize modularity, versioning, and cryptographic verifiability to enable auditability and portability.

Privacy and ethics: The concept foregrounds privacy by design, allowing users to grant granular permissions and revoke access. It also raises questions about data provenance, obligation to correct inaccuracies, and resilience against profiling abuses.

Examples: A prófi for a person might include: id "profi:person:alice-01", kind "Person", attributes {name, locale, preferences}, provenance {createdBy}, permissions {read, share: false}, expiration date.

See also: profile, digital identity, data portability.