After months of wireframing, designing, and testing, we have officially released our Identity & Security App! We couldn’t be more excited for this launch! The opportunity to finally put the app into the hands of people around the world is a big step forward for the Hydro community, but more importantly, the blockchain community globally.
Our Journey
Beginning last year, we saw a huge need for security in website applications. Major companies — Facebook, Bithumb, BMO, Equifax — were impacted by breaches of PII (personally identifiable information), with devastating results for the state of data privacy.
Hydro Raindrop offers a way to enhance off-chain authentication protocols by incorporating blockchain mechanics as a component of a single or multi-factor authentication process. This can add a useful layer of security to help thwart access breaches and data compromises. With the release of the Hydro app, we are making Raindrop a reality.
It’s been six months since the Hydro journey began, and since then we’ve had:
- Over 11,000 developers participate in the HYDRO airdrop
- 40,000 signups for Hydrogen accounts
- A BlockTank event during Blockchain Week in NYC, live streamed and watched by 150,000+ people worldwide
- A Telegram, Twitter, and Reddit community that has grown to more than 20,000 members — all organically, with no marketing budget
Getting Started With Hydro
Get started today with the following simple steps:
- Download the Hydro: Security & Identity app — 100% Free! Both iOS and Android versions are available
- Start the sign-up process
- Shake your phone to generate some randomness — this will securely create your 12 seed (recovery) words which you should keep in a safe place
- Link an account; you can link with any website or platform that has implemented Hydro 2FA!
Client-Side Raindrop
At launch, the Hydro app’s primary feature is something we call Client-Side Raindrop. The Client-Side Raindrop is an authentication protocol that verifies users on-chain. In addition to validating that a user is the owner of a particular blockchain address, the protocol is tied to a user’s device in the same vein as traditional Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) frameworks. Hydro’s Raindrop can be used to protect against hacking and phishing of accounts, logins, transactions, and payments.
You can learn much more about how the protocol works and other technical details in the Raindrop White Paper.
Implementations
If you are looking to implement Raindrop onto your own website, you can easily integrate within a couple of hours! We’ve written an in-depth implementation guide and included some videos to help you get started. As always, Hydro core developers are available on Discord if you have any questions about implementation or how the technology works.
In addition, we encourage end users to download the app, tweet at your favorite websites and platforms, and request that they #IntegrateRaindrop or #SwitchToHydro for 2FA. The more you tweet, the more likely these platforms will be to join the Hydro community and push the adoption of Hydro 2FA even further!
Next Steps
We’re incredibly happy we with the support we’ve received from our community, and glad to see everyone taking security seriously. A special shoutout goes to our active community members who have been helping us ramp up HCDP and the Decentralization Ambassador program. If you are looking for ways to get involved with the Hydro project, please check out those programs and join the Hydro family!
