Journal

Notes on digital identity.

Written by Stephan Bergmann, founder of hashID. First published on LinkedIn, collected here.

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  26 Oct 2026 Last Wednesday, two flaws were found in PHP — the language a very large share of the web …

  Last Wednesday, two flaws were found in PHP — the language a very large share of the web is written in. Both rated 9.2 out of 10. No login needed, no password, …

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  23 Oct 2026 Monday: how many copies. Wednesday: what one copy did. Friday: Oma.

  Monday: how many copies. Wednesday: what one copy did. Friday: Oma. My mother is 79. She has a folder. Paper, two …

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  21 Oct 2026 Monday I asked how many copies of your ID are out there. Today, what one of them did.

  Monday I asked how many copies of your ID are out there. Today, what one of them did. A friend of my wife's got a …

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  19 Oct 2026 How many times this year have you photographed your own ID and sent it to someone?

  How many times this year have you photographed your own ID and sent it to someone? Hotel check-in. Rental car. A new …

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  16 Oct 2026 Monday: the look. Wednesday: 12 items. Friday: Oma, in nine words.

  Monday: the look. Wednesday: 12 items. Friday: Oma, in nine words. "A 12-year-old looked 12. They don't anymore." Then …

More articles

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  14 Oct 2026 Monday: the look stopped working. Today: what we put in its place.
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  12 Oct 2026 My grandmother is 79. On Friday she took apart my own argument, and she was right.
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  9 Oct 2026 Monday: the door. Wednesday: 1 bit. Friday: Oma.
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  7 Oct 2026 Monday: the door. Today: what it learns.
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  5 Oct 2026 A digital identity that lives on a smartphone.
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  2 Oct 2026 My mother bought her paper at the same kiosk for 40 years. This week I tried to explain …
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  30 Sep 2026 1 option. That's all EU law asks of the largest platforms when it comes to a feed that d …
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  28 Sep 2026 You watch a video. The feed notes how long. The next one is a little more of the same, a …
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  25 Sep 2026 I was explaining to my mother how the age lock works on television. There's a four-digit …
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  23 Sep 2026 Article 6a of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive says the most harmful content — g …
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  21 Sep 2026 From next year, a thirteen-year-old in Europe won't be able to open an account on a high …
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  18 Sep 2026 I was telling my mother that the European identity wallet will be free. No fee, no subsc …
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  16 Sep 2026 A citizen pays nothing for the EU Digital Identity Wallet. That is not a business decisi …
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  14 Sep 2026 At a conference this year, someone building identity infrastructure told me why their pr …
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  11 Sep 2026 My mother is thinking about moving to Spain to be near us. She's 79, she sits on our adv …
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  9 Sep 2026 14 Million
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  7 Sep 2026 Your SIM belongs to your mobile operator. Your phone's secure chip belongs to the manufa …
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  4 Sep 2026 My mother has a smartphone. She's 79, she's on our advisory board, and she uses it every …
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  2 Sep 2026 In one European region, 17% of adults have never used the internet. In another, it's und …
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  31 Aug 2026 Every age verification system I have seen assumes you own a smartphone, that it is recen …
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  28 Aug 2026 I explained to my mother how online age checks work. Photograph your ID, send it, wait f …
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  26 Aug 2026 A leaked password is an inconvenience. You reset it and move on.
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  24 Aug 2026 Every service that stores your identity document is holding it for you.
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  21 Aug 2026 My mother wanted to join an European social platform. She's 79 and she'd heard good thin …
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  19 Aug 2026 Verifying someone's age requires exactly one bit of information: yes or no.
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  17 Aug 2026 A German social platform needed to check that its users are over 18. It picked a provide …
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  14 Aug 2026 I told my mother about the European identity wallet. She's 79 and on our advisory board, …
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  12 Aug 2026 Fewer than one in three EU member states are ready for the EU Digital Identity Wallet.
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  10 Aug 2026 Two questions about the EU Digital Identity Wallet. Neither is technical.
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  7 Aug 2026 Every whitepaper I write goes to my mother first.