# Empowering Individuals and Businesses Decentralized identity does not just benefit individuals. It also helps businesses **reduce liability and enhance trust**. For example, instead of storing customer data and risking a breach, a bank can verify a customer’s identity using a verifiable credential issued by a government authority or trusted entity. **The bank does not need to store the document**—just the cryptographic proof of its validity. This reduces the bank’s compliance burden and exposure to cyberattacks. It could take the shape of a decentralized identity platform that allows users to present verifiable credentials across platforms, from education to employment, without handing over the document itself. Such innovations give users **more privacy while enabling faster, more secure services.** --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://hub.bsvblockchain.org/higher-learning/bsv-academy/identity-and-privacy-foundations/from-identity-theft-to-control-rethinking-personal-data-ownership/empowering-individuals-and-businesses.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.