Glossary of Web4 terms

UIID: Universal Integrated Identity Decoupled — Web4's identity layer, giving users a self-owned digital identity held on their own device.

Core ID: The private identity used for high-trust actions.

Alias: One of an unlimited number of anonymous identifiers used for everyday activity, so services cannot cross-reference behaviour.

Ownership Thesis: The principle that every layer of the internet should trace back to something a person or organization directly controls, rather than something rented.

Synthetic Web: The category of automated, agent-driven activity online, and how Web4 governs it through time-limited, revocable permissions.

SNaaS: Social Networks as a Service — building and operating your own social network instead of joining an existing platform.

DID: Decentralized Identifier, a W3C standard for identifiers a person controls directly rather than ones issued by a company.

Verifiable Credential: A W3C standard allowing information to be proven true without oversharing personal details.

Web4 @home: Running a Web4 network on very low-cost hardware such as a Raspberry Pi.