Jack Dorsey, former
CEO of social media giant Twitter, announced ‘Web5’, a new platform that is
built on the combination of Web3 and Web2.0. Dorsey’s Web5 promises to ensure
securing personal data of users, a persistent concern with the ever-widening
use of the internet. Web5, on the company website, states: “We struggle to
secure personal data with hundreds of accounts and passwords we can’t remember.
On the web today, identity and personal data have become the property of third
parties.”

Developed by The
Block Head (TBH), Web5 is one of Bitcoin business units at Dorsey’s Block,
earlier called Square. The Web5 platform aims to bring decentralised identity
and data storage to applications. “It lets developers focus on creating
delightful user experiences while returning ownership of data and identity to
individuals.”

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Web5 essentially distinguishes
itself from Web3 on how it claims to store user data. When a Twitter user asked
Dorsey “what makes Web3, from your perspective, not decentralised enough…,”
Dorsey said, “It’s the basis on single point of failure systems (eth, solano,
*) and lies being told to people about who owns and controls it.”

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According to
Dorsey, Web3 is controlled by venture capitalists and limited partners. In
Web5, users will be able to own their data, and they will be able to “control
their identity”. The use cases will be able to “control their identity”. They
will be supported by wallets, decentralised web nodes (DWNS) and decentralised
web apps (DWAS).

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The Block Head’s
purpose, according to the company website, is for users to own their data. Citing
an example, it says, Bob, a music enthusiast hates having his data locked to a
single vendor. It forces him to find his favourite music across different music
apps. By using Web5, Bob can keep this data in his decentralised web node. This
way Bob can grant any music app access to his settings and preferences.