- Google Wallet uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify identity details like age without revealing personal information.
- The tech builds on crypto innovations but is likely not blockchain-based.
- For a secure digital ID, Google plans to use it broadly across platforms like Amazon, Uber, and CVS.
Google Wallet users will gain better privacy protection through the implementation of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), which verify their identity without breaching confidentiality rules. This week, the company stated that it will deploy the new digital ID system in the UK first, with international expansion plans for the United States and other countries.
The shift demonstrates rising interest in zero-knowledge technologies following their development into useful tools within the cryptocurrency industry. Google verified the solution safeguards private user information as it allows verification of online and offline service authentication.
Privacy Without Compromising Identity
Users can verify particular information through zero-knowledge proofs while ensuring the protection of their personal details. Users can demonstrate being above the legal age limit through the system without exposing their genuine birth date information. Google declared the integration serves to enhance compliance with privacy requirements in services that need age verification.
In a statement posted on Google’s official blog, it explained the reasons that led to the program launch. Online platforms need age verification as per their rules yet the system offers identity protection during this verification process according to the company. ZKP technology creates independent proof-of-age systems which prevent any relationship between user identity and their age information.
This implementation relies on ZKPs yet its operation is not expected to involve blockchain technology. The deployment of this approach stands on research conducted by crypto developers which generated many advancements for ZKPs and made them usable in practical settings. Google declared that its implementation of ZKPs will operate as an open-source platform enabling various electronic platforms and digital wallets to access the technology.
Origins of Zero-Knowledge Proofs and Crypto’s Role
Shafi Goldwasser, Silvio Micali, along Charles Rackoff invented the zero-knowledge proofs during the 1980s. During that period, most uses of this technology were restricted to the educational sector. The adoption of zero-knowledge proofs entered the crypto sphere when Zcash implemented the technology for preserving trust while enabling transaction detail confidentiality.
Blockchain developers brought forward zk-Rollups as an Ethereum platform solution that decreases platform congestion and improves transaction efficiency through off-chain transaction processing. New zk-SNARKs and zk-STARKs technologies expanded privacy functionality as well as scalability capabilities, but Plonk and Marlin variants enable decentralized Filecoin data storage solutions. ZKPs continue to evolve through innovations that strengthen their functionality and create prospects for their use in practical digital products.
Wider Applications and Future Plans
The announcement declares that the ZKP-based ID of Google Wallet provides support for numerous applications beyond age verification capabilities. Both domestic flight check-ins and digital passport services in the United States will benefit from the system, which supports online and offline operations. Google works towards adopting integrations with several significant platforms.
Google identified Amazon, Uber, CVS, and MyChart by Epic System Corporation as initial users of their digital ID verification platform. This technology enables users to recover their accounts as well as access healthcare services and verify identities on platforms using supported features. The company continues working with other organizations to create new uses of the digital ID verification system.
