By Rohan Le Page
Let me say the quiet part out loud.
I hate Digital ID. Not the idea of verifying something online, but the way Digital ID is usually built and rolled out.
It is always the same story. “For safety” or “for convenience.” Then suddenly you are handing over way more personal data than the situation needs, and it is sitting somewhere you do not control, forever, waiting to be breached, misused, or expanded.
That is not safety. That is a liability.
Here is what I hate about Digital ID as we know it
It creates honeypots. Centralised databases of sensitive personal data are not “if they get hacked”, they are “when”. And when it happens, it is not a company problem, it is a you problem.
It forces oversharing. If I need to prove I am over 18, why am I handing over my full name, address, ID number, date of birth, and a face scan. That is insane.
It turns verification into tracking. A reusable identifier across platforms becomes a breadcrumb trail of your life. Even when nobody calls it tracking, that is what it becomes.
It removes choice. You either comply, or you cannot access the service. That is not consent. That is coercion.
I have felt this strongly for a long time, strongly enough that it has cost me friendships. Because people hear “I hate Digital ID” and assume I am anti safety, anti government, anti progress.
I am not.
I am anti data grab.
So why would I co-found ShareRing
Because I wanted to build the version that removes the poison.
ShareRing exists for one reason:
You should be able to prove what you need to prove, without handing over everything else.
That is it.
We built ShareRing to deliver verification without creating a data honeypot, and without forcing people to expose their identity to every app, website, and platform that asks.
And to be clear, this is where Tim Bos comes in. Tim is my co-founder, and he is the technical genius who took a strong point of view and turned it into something real, something that actually works in the real world, at scale. I can talk about principles all day, but Tim is the one who brought the tech to life.
We did not start here. ShareRing began as a vision to create an environment where people could “Share Anything”. That genesis evolved into ShareRing Me, a digital verification platform designed to make that vision real, so you can share what you want, when you want, with who you want, without oversharing or losing control.
Age checks are the easiest example.
If a platform needs to know 13 plus, or 18 plus, they do not need your passport. They do not need your date of birth. They do not need your face stored somewhere. They need a simple answer. Yes or no.
That is what we do.
The punchline
Most Digital ID is built like a vacuum cleaner. Collect everything, store it, hope for the best.
ShareRing is built like a lock. Only reveal what is required, keep the rest private, by default.
So no, I did not suddenly become a Digital ID person.
I am the person who refused to accept the version that puts everyone at risk, and built the one that doesn’t.
If you want safety and compliance without building a surveillance layer, this is the path.-
