The HODA system (Iranian Digital Identity) was launched by the National Civil Registry Organization and replaces the submission of copies of the birth certificate and national ID card. The platform allows governmental organizations and authorized institutions to verify a person's identity electronically through secure API-based queries.

However, this system's high concentration of sensitive identity information increases the potential for this comprehensive and powerful database to be used for large-scale tracking and monitoring — for surveillance and espionage. Its centralized structure and the accumulation of highly sensitive identity data have raised concerns among privacy advocates. In Iran's state media, "HODA" has been referred to as the "super-project of individual identity verification."