Identity

Identity is self representation

Identity in online platforms refers to the basket of personal information users provide in presenting themselves online. We often think of this as a username and a profile picture, but since users can often represent any part of themselves in a platform, Identity can encompass a wide range of personal attributes, including gender, religion, sexual orientation, location, education, interests, and any other number of affiliations or identities that a user may or may not hold in the real world.

The degree to which platforms structure the elements of user identity varies across a broad spectrum, in line with the degree to which the online persona is expected to be a representation of a real world person. At one end, identity on dating apps tends to be highly structured in order to give users powerful features by which to filter and sort prospective matches, and users are expected to (and expect one another to) provide accurate data. At the other end of the spectrum, identity on publishing sites like blogs tends to be optional and free-form, even anonymous, and is broadly understood to be potentially unrepresentative of the human behind the profile.

Anonymity plays an important role on the internet

Identity is an important tool for building trust on the internet, but it isn't well suited for all tasks. Anonymity, it's shadow, plays a different set of critical functions.

Anonymitiy safeguards freedom of expression and protects individuals' privacy and safety. It allows folks to openly express their opinions, ideas, and concerns without fear of retaliation or persecution. It empowers marginalized and vulnerable groups to voice their perspectives, share sensitive information, and participate in public discussions without the fear of retaliation. It also enables whistleblowers, activists, and individuals living under oppressive regimes to communicate and advocate for change without risking retaliation. Anonymity is a valuable feature that empowers everyone to live more freely online - with fewer real world consequences for online actions.

Designing platform identity (setting the structural expectations for user representation on a platform) simultaneously designs anonymity on the platform. Most platforms enable some forms of both identity and anonymity, a balancing act in line with their broader trade-offs between trust and freedom.

Abuses in Identity

As with any powerful tool facilitating a physical connection with the digital world, identity is a common font of abuse.

Privacy broadly describes one basket of concerns. When users provide personal information to a platform, it is immediately at risk to unauthorized access, data breaches, or unexpected use. With access to even limited identity features, platforms and adversarial actors can correlate identity across sites, potentially gaining access to more information than the user intended. Platforms also often use (or predict) a user's identity features in order to collect data for targeted advertising and discriminatory pricing.

Malicious misuse captures another set of concerns. The abundance of identity collection online makes everyone more susceptible to harm from malicious users, including doxxing, stalking, and identity theft. The novel field of "Open Source Intelligence" has sprung up as a result of the bounty of data-detritus that each of us leaves in our wake as we surf across the internet.  Just as OSINT experts can solve cases of international espionage, OSINT novices can often find enough information to track, steal from, and threaten ordinary citizens.

A final basket of concerns is the way that identity features challenge authentication: how do we know that someone is who they claim that they are online, and how can we extend trust over the internet if we don't know who people are?

Design Identity with Empathy

Because Identity sits at the bridge between the real world and the digital one, it's one of the most important ones to design for deliberately, because poor design can yield physical harm. In particular, when thinking about a feature or a use case, Product Managers should always picture their product through a diverse collection of viewpoints:

• Could a political dissident use this tool?
• Would a person with a stalker feel comfortable using this tool?
• How would a tyrant use this tool?

And ask themselves a series of always useful questions:

• Do we have a business need for this data?
• Does this data need to be public?
• What goes wrong if a user is impersonated?

Well designed identity features have the potential to keep users safer, and more comfortable, in digital spaces.