Decentralized Identity

There are several types of decentralized identity.

Portable Identity

This is where you can take your social identity with you and move to another server. This allows you to change providers or self-host your identity on a new server. You would also be able to transfer your content and posts over to the new server, and you would also be able to keep your current followers.

Some platforms, like Mastodon, have implemented partial portable identity. In the case of Mastodon, you currently can move your identity to a new server, but your content will not be transferred.

Nomadic Identity

Nomadic identity takes it one step further than portable identity, and allows you to clone your identity onto multiple servers, which remain synchronized with each other until deleted or disconnected. This allows you to have a backup location to log into, makes it easy to transfer between servers, and serves as a backup of your identity and content.

Nomadic identity has been available since 2012, and is used by platforms such as Hubzilla, (streams), and Forte.