One of the more common use cases for blockchain technology is identity verification and authorization. You have probably experienced the issues around the web, where you either need to remember many usernames and passwords to confirm your identity to another provider, such as Google or Facebook. The problem here is that you must trust Google, Facebook, or other providers to manage your identity and keep it safe. This creates a single point of failure and allows a centralized authority to control whose identities are valid and what rights they have. This ecosystem is an obvious target for disruption and decentralization.

Hyperledger Indy is a blockchain project built around decentralized, self-declared identity. The goal of Indy is to provide tools and libraries for creating digital identities that can be managed on a blockchain and made interoperable with other applications and use cases that require identity verification.

While Fabric, Sawtooth, and Iroha all have some level of identity mechanism built in, Indy is specifically oriented around identity management and for use by applications that may not run on a blockchain. Thus, Indy could be used to provide identity services to web applications, company resources, and so on. Existing companies include Sovrin (who donated the original Indy codebase) and Every.