What are the ten principles of self-sovereign identity?

Question

Accepted Answer

Existence, control, access, transparency, persistence, portability, interoperability, consent, minimal disclosure and protection (Christopher Allen's ten principles).

Principle
What it demands

Existence
A user exists independently of any digital system; the digital identity only exposes limited aspects of a real person.

(User) control
The user is the ultimate authority over their identity: they can refer to it, update it or hide it.

(User) access
Users can always retrieve all claims and data about themselves; no hidden data, no gatekeepers.

Transparency
The systems and algorithms that run the identity network are open and inspectable.

Persistence
Identities are long-lived, at least as long as the user wants them (while still allowing them to be deleted).

Portability
The identity is not locked to one provider; it can move with the user if a provider disappears.

Interoperability
The identity is usable as widely as possible, across services and borders.

(User) consent
Data about the user is shared only with their deliberate agreement.

Minimal disclosure
Disclose only the minimum data needed for the task (prove "over 18", not the birth date).

Protection
When the network's needs and the user's rights conflict, the user's rights win.

A useful way to remember them: three are about the user's power (control, access, consent), three about the identity's lifetime and reach (persistence, portability, interoperability), two about the system's trustworthiness (transparency, protection), plus existence as the foundation and minimal disclosure as the privacy rule.
Tip: Minimal disclosure is the principle that drives most of the cryptography in SSI: selective disclosure, zero-knowledge proofs and unlinkability all exist to serve it.
Go deeper:

The Path to Self-Sovereign Identity on GitHub — each of the ten principles with Allen's own one-paragraph explanation.

Principle	What it demands
Existence	A user exists independently of any digital system; the digital identity only exposes limited aspects of a real person.
(User) control	The user is the ultimate authority over their identity: they can refer to it, update it or hide it.
(User) access	Users can always retrieve all claims and data about themselves; no hidden data, no gatekeepers.
Transparency	The systems and algorithms that run the identity network are open and inspectable.
Persistence	Identities are long-lived, at least as long as the user wants them (while still allowing them to be deleted).
Portability	The identity is not locked to one provider; it can move with the user if a provider disappears.
Interoperability	The identity is usable as widely as possible, across services and borders.
(User) consent	Data about the user is shared only with their deliberate agreement.
Minimal disclosure	Disclose only the minimum data needed for the task (prove "over 18", not the birth date).
Protection	When the network's needs and the user's rights conflict, the user's rights win.