What You’ll Learn

• What open standards are and why they matter
• How they make your credentials work everywhere
• How SpruceID helps build inclusive, secure ecosystems

What Are Open Standards?

If every tree in the forest made its own kind of leaf, some square, some circle, some with unreadable patterns, no one would know what to trust. That’s exactly what would happen in digital identity if every organization (like a DMV, university, or government agency) created credentials in totally different formats.

Open standards are like a shared blueprint for leaves. They define how digital credentials should be shaped, what information they hold, how they’re signed, and how others can recognize them.

When everyone follows the same standards:

• Issuers can create credentials that work across different systems
• Verifiers can easily recognize and trust what they see
• People can carry their credentials from one forest (or state/country) to another without compatibility issues

Open standards make sure your credentials are as portable and trusted as a familiar leaf in any part of the digital forest.

These standards are set by global groups like:

• W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
• ISO (International Organization for Standardization)

SpruceID builds tools that follow and support these standards so that your leaves can be used in forests all over the world.

Why Are They Important?

Thanks to open standards:

• You can use a mobile ID from California in another state
• A credential from your school can be checked by any employer
• Wallets and verifiers can interoperate, just like browsers do with websites

Without standards, each system would be isolated, like trees that can’t communicate. With them, the entire forest becomes connected.

Privacy and Inclusion

SpruceID helps make sure that:

• Your leaves are private and can’t be tracked across the forest
• You can use them even without internet
• The tools are accessible and easy to use

This means you don’t need to be tech-savvy to benefit from digital credentials. The system is built for everyone, young trees, old trees, all species.

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Next Branches: Where to Grow from Here

Congratulations! You’ve now planted the seeds of understanding and explored the world of digital credentials. In these 3 beginner modules, you’ve learned:

• What digital credentials are and how they work
• How you can hold and share your own identity
• Why open standards help your credentials work everywhere

But this is just the beginning.

If you're ready to keep growing, explore the next tracks in our SpruceID Knowledge Base:

• Landscape: Understand how the digital identity ecosystem fits together from governments, organizations, open-source communities, and beyond.
• Technology: Dive into the technical weeds to learn about verifiable credentials, DID standards, digital wallets, encryption, and trust registries.
• Considerations: Explore the ethical, legal, and policy layers that help ensure digital identity works for everyone, not just the most connected.

Each module helps you climb higher, from sapling to canopy, equipping you to build, support, or advocate for trusted digital systems.

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