Relevant elements
Only identity elements relevant to the defined purpose are considered.
QEI / QUANTIZED ENCRYPTED IDENTITY
Verify what matters.
Verify what matters.
Keep what is yours.
QEI (Quantized Encrypted Identity) is a research initiative for digital identity with minimal disclosure of personal data. It explores how to verify a necessary attribute or entitlement while preserving individual privacy.
RESEARCH CONCEPT IN DEVELOPMENT
2026
01LESS DISCLOSUREOnly what is necessary.
02MORE CONTROLIdentity remains protected.
03VERIFIABLE RESULTThe service gets the answer, not everything.
01
WHAT IS QEI?
Identity can be verifiable without always being revealed.
Digital procedures often ask for more personal data than the specific purpose actually requires. QEI starts from a different question: can a system reliably confirm the necessary attribute or right without exposing more identity than is needed?
See the difference
THE PROBLEM / TODAY
For one answer, we often hand over the whole identity.
TRADITIONAL DATA FLOW
NAME
DATE OF BIRTH
ADDRESS
PHOTO
DOCUMENT NUMBER
MORE DATA IN THE PROCESS
QEI APPROACH
ONLY THE NECESSARY PROOF
VERIFIED
Does the user meet the required age threshold?
18+
YES
✓
The service receives a verifiable answer without revealing the name, address, photo, document number or full date of birth.
ARCHITECTURE / PRIVACY BY DESIGN
Privacy is not an add-on.
Privacy is not an add-on.
It is part of the structure.
The publicly presented QEI concept emphasises separate processing, protected technical records, data minimisation and verification without unnecessary disclosure of the full identity.
Protected processing
Sensitive data is not unnecessarily combined or disclosed.
Protected record
A purpose-limited technical record, or token, is created.
Verifiable answer
The service receives the result it actually needs for the procedure.
NO CENTRAL BIOMETRIC DATABASERaw sensitive data should not be stored in one central repository.
SEPARATION OF RECORDSIdentity data, technical records and audit trails should remain separated.
CLEAR LEGAL BASISEvery use must be purpose-specific, proportionate and legally justified.
POSSIBLE APPLICATION AREAS
One principle.
One principle.
Many contexts.
QEI is a research concept. The public initiative opens discussion around areas where identity, security, privacy and public interest intersect.
01
QEI Child Protection
Age verification, protected status and the Safe Check, Silent Alert and Child SOS concepts.
Explore system 02QEI Public Administration
Purpose-limited verification of identity, status and authority in digital public procedures.
Explore system 03QEI Healthcare
Patient, role or entitlement verification without turning QEI into a medical record database.
Explore system 04QEI Public Procurement
Verification of participant identity and authority, separated from bid evaluation and award decisions.
Explore system 05QEI Elections
A research concept that separates eligibility and one-time use of the entitlement from the content of the secret ballot.
Explore systemQEI ≠SURVEILLANCE
A CLEAR BOUNDARY
QEI is not a system for mass surveillance.
The initiative explicitly starts from the principle that any potential system must be limited, purpose-specific, proportionate and legally justified. The technology must not become a tool for profiling, commercial exploitation or unrestricted expansion of surveillance.
RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / VALIDATION
From concept to a testable question.
QEI is a concept in development, not an implemented state system. The proposed research pilot for the Republic of Slovenia is framed as a limited environment for technical, legal and data-protection assessment.
Problem, principles and research questions.
Development of a privacy-preserving conceptual model.
A proposed research pilot for the Republic of Slovenia.
Official communication with European institutions, including DG CONNECT.
A pilot should not be designed to prove that QEI works. It should determine whether it works — and under what conditions.
NEWS / PUBLIC DIALOGUE
Latest from QEI.
QEI news is automatically displayed from Institute 1 April posts in the News category tagged QEI.
View all news
The most common online scams: how could QEI prevent digital identity misuse?
From phishing and fake online shops to bank fraud, deepfakes and identity theft: how could the QEI research concept prevent, block, limit or reduce online abuse?
Read at Institute 1 April+
When a compromised administrator does not mean a compromised identity
Can digital identity be designed so that even a breach of an administrator account does not grant direct access to users’ personal data?
Read at Institute 1 April+
When the internet goes down: can digital identity still work?
The internet can fail. Mobile networks can disappear. A central service can become temporarily unavailable. But a person does not stop being who they are. Should their digital identity stop…
Read at Institute 1 April+
When the chip is stolen: can digital identity remain secure after a document is compromised?
In Italy, three biometric identity cards with their microchips removed with unusual precision were discovered within a matter of days. The cases raise a question that goes beyond the physical…
Read at Institute 1 April+
THE BROADER CONTEXT
QEI as a distinct technology concept.
QEI as a distinct technology concept.
Institute 1 April as the broader research context.
QEI is a research initiative associated with Institute 1 April. QEI.si is dedicated to presenting the concept, its logic, possible application areas and development as a distinct identity.
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