WebID
specification to define a set of standards for identity, identification and authentication on HTTP based networks
WebID is a method for internet services and members to know who they are communicating with. The WebID specifications define a set of editor's drafts to prepare the process of standardization for identity, identification and authentication on HTTP-based networks. WebID-based protocols (Solid OIDC, WebID-TLS, WebID-TLS+Delegation) offer a new way to log into internet services. Instead of using a password, for example, the member refers to another web address which can vouch for it. WebID is not a specific service or product.
Technically speaking, a WebID is an HTTP URI that denotes ("refers to" or "names") an agent on an HTTP based network such as the Web or an enterprise intranet. In line with linked data principles, when a WebID is de-referenced ("looked up"), it resolves to a profile document (a WebID-Profile) that describes its referent (what it denotes). This profile document consists of RDF model based structured data, originally constructed primarily using terms from the FOAF vocabulary, but now often including terms from other vocabularies.
Profile documents can be stored on the agent's own Web server, and access thereto may be partially or wholly constrained to specific agent identities via the use of access controls, to preserve the privacy of the profile document's subject.
Protocols
WebID-TLS
The WebID-TLS protocol (formerly known as FOAF+SSL) is a decentralized and secure authentication protocol built upon the profile information as well as the Transport Layer Security (TLS) client certificates available in virtually all modern web browsers.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “WebID” is specification to define a set of standards for identity, identification and authentication on HTTP based networks. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through WebID, specification and define, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “specification to define a set of standards for identity, identification and authentication on HTTP based networks” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 12, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q17087197. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “WebID” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.