# Connected Identity

> A persistent digital identity for physical products, assets and places.

Canonical URL: https://www.smartlinks.app/concepts/connected-identity

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Connected Identity is the foundation of the SmartLinks platform. Every physical thing — a product on a shelf, a tool in the field, an asset in a building — is given one persistent digital identity that travels with it for its entire life.

## What makes an identity 'connected'

A connected identity is unique, resolvable and durable. Unique, so the digital record refers to one specific item, batch or place — not just a product type. Resolvable, so any scanner, browser or agent can dereference the identifier and reach the live record. Durable, so the identity outlives any single channel, campaign, retailer or app.
SmartLinks expresses connected identity through open standards: GS1 Digital Link URIs, GTINs, serial numbers and lot codes — encoded into QR, NFC, RFID, or printed on labels and packaging.

## Why it matters

Without a connected identity, every system holds a partial view: the brand has marketing data, the retailer has stock data, the operator has service data, and the customer has receipts. None of them join up.
With a connected identity, every interaction — a scan, a registration, a service event, an AI query — attaches to the same record. That record becomes the canonical place where ownership, compliance, support history and lifecycle information live.

## Carriers

Connected Identity is carrier-neutral. The same record can be reached through a 2D QR on packaging, an NFC tag in a label, an RFID chip in a garment, a GS1 Digital Link printed on a serial plate, or a deep-link from another app. The carrier is an implementation detail; the identity is the point.

## Related

- [Product Record](https://www.smartlinks.app/concepts/product-record)
- [Connected Product](https://www.smartlinks.app/concepts/connected-product)
- [GS1 Digital Link](https://www.smartlinks.app/gs1-digital-link)