Identiq

Identiq operates a private peer-to-peer network that enables large companies to collaborate and validate consumer identities for the purpose of fraud prevention. The service is used by businesses in sectors like e-commerce, banking, and fintech to verify new users and transactions without directly sharing any sensitive personal data with each other. Using proprietary cryptographic technology, member companies can confirm whether a user is trusted by others on the network, reducing friction for legitimate customers while blocking bad actors. While this model is designed to enhance privacy by not exposing raw personal information, it still involves creating a trust profile of individuals based on their collective activity across different services. The primary risk for individuals is not public data exposure, but the potential for being algorithmically denied services based on a negative validation within this closed network, which could result from inaccurate data. To protect themselves, individuals should be cautious about the information they share with online services and can exercise their data rights by contacting the companies they do business with directly.