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Digital Identity Management provides the following types of user roles:
  • Regular User: A Regular User is a user that signs up and subscribes to a service.
  • Soft Profile User: A Soft Profile User is a user that can be a minor user or guest user, and they are not required to sign up or subscribe to a service.
A Regular User can create user profiles explicitly for minors, friends, family, and guests to grant those user profiles temporary or limited access to accounts or services that the regular user owns. A Soft Profile User (SP User) can only access resources if they have been authenticated by the Regular User who created that Soft Profile. Regular Users also have the option to set a PIN as an added layer to ensure that their SP Users do not access the associated services outside the purview and explicit consent of the regular user. Additionally, Regular Users can grant service entitlements to SP Users on per User basis, consistent with Digital Identity Management’s data model. For example, a Regular User (parent) can specify what type of content the SP User (child) can access; so when the SP Users signs in, the application only shows content relevant and permitted to the SP User. Users, both Regular and Soft Profile, can switch to other Users within the application by entering the correct PIN or password, depending on the User type, context, and application leveraging the feature functionality. For example if an SP User tries to switch to the Regular User, the application can prompt them to enter the security PIN (if a PIN has been set by the Regular User), or to enter the Regular User’s password. These are optional settings. In other words, a Regular User can allow the SP User easy access, or require additional security prompts to control that access.

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Use Cases of Soft Profile User

The two most common use cases are:
  • A Regular User (for example, a parent) creates a soft profile for a minor in the household, to grant that minor very limited access to a service or resources owned by the parent, without the need for that minor to register for their own User ID. Parents leverage this functionality in cases where minors do not have a verifiable email, mobile, or social media account, or where the parent does not want the minor to register that information with the system. The minor can only access resources if the parent first authenticates with their regular User ID, and then switches to the SP User.
  • A Regular User creates an SP User so that a friend can access a service without needing to fully sign up for it. In time, the SP User purchases their own subscription to the service, and gets their own Regular User ID with a verified email/mobile and password.

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User Promotion

A Regular User can, when they deem fit, promote an SP User to a regular user. This process adds a verifiable authentication identifier to the Digital Identity Management User ID, and prompts the recipient to follow an onboarding flow similar to new user invitations. Soft Profiles have the benefit of security and privacy for minors and users who want to try a service before opting in for a subscription or purchase of their own. As an SP User grows into a fully identifiable Regular User, the merchant gains a knowable identity, complete with preferences, viewing history, and other associated data that the merchant can use to create targeted experiences for that Regular User. Parent topic:User Functionalities