TruePass Launches Sri Lanka-Built Digital Identity Platform as Leading Publishers Unite to Shape the Future of Digital Media

TruePass Media Alliance brings together some of Sri Lanka's leading publishers on a first-of-its-kind shared identity platform, built around trusted audiences, first-party data and new audience-based revenue opportunities

TruePass, a Sri Lankan-built digital identity and authentication platform designed for the publishing ecosystem, was officially unveiled in Colombo on 17 September. The first platform of its kind in Sri Lanka to connect an entire ecosystem of publishers through a single, shared identity layer, TruePass marks a significant step towards enabling local publishers to build stronger, direct and trusted relationships with their digital audiences - and to create new value from them.

A highlight of the launch was the formation of the TruePass Media Alliance, bringing together leading publishers including Wijaya Newspapers Limited, HiruNews, Newsfirst, Ada Derana and Liberty Media, Virakesari - Express Newspapers Ltd, Papare.lk, Gossip Lanka and TodayNews.

The coming together of these publishers signals growing industry recognition of what has increasingly become a missing piece in the digital publishing ecosystem: a trusted identity and authentication layer that allows publishers to move beyond anonymous audiences and build their own first-party audience relationships. It is the first time publishers spanning Sri Lanka's Sinhala, Tamil and English news, sport and entertainment media have connected through a common identity platform, rather than each building - or going without - such infrastructure alone.

The Alliance reflects a shared vision of a future in which publishers have a more direct relationship with their readers, greater control over first-party audience data and stronger foundations for sustainable digital business models.

Built in Sri Lanka for the future of publishing

Developed in Sri Lanka, TruePass enables a reader to establish a verified profile and access participating publisher platforms through a common authentication experience - authenticate once, access everywhere.

For publishers, however, the significance extends beyond simplifying login. TruePass provides an identity layer through which publishers can progressively transform anonymous website traffic into authenticated audiences, establish direct first-party relationships with readers and create the foundation for greater personalisation, engagement and new revenue opportunities.

Participating publishers continue to build their own first-party audience relationships. For readers, TruePass is intended to make access across participating publishers simpler while creating a more transparent, consent-led relationship around their data.

For readers, the benefits go beyond convenience. A recognised, consenting reader can be offered richer and more engaging experiences: content tailored to their interests, continuity as they move between devices and publications, early or exclusive access, and new formats such as interactive features, community participation and member-only content - all on terms the reader controls.

An industry-wide conversation

The launch drew a broad cross-section of Sri Lanka's digital ecosystem, with representatives from the Ministry of Mass Media, GovTech, the Data Protection Authority, ICTA and FITIS, alongside telecommunications partners, prominent journalists, advertising agencies, advertisers and a large community of publishers.

The breadth of participation reflected the growing importance of digital identity, privacy, first-party data and trusted audience relationships not simply as technology issues, but as questions that will increasingly shape the future sustainability of Sri Lanka's media industry.

"This is much bigger than a login"

Setting the vision for TruePass, Jayomi Lokuliyana, CEO of TruePass and AdStudio.cloud, spoke about the changing relationship between publishers, technology platforms and audiences - and the opportunity for Sri Lanka's publishing industry to take greater ownership of its digital future.

"TruePass is much bigger than creating another login. It is about giving publishers the infrastructure to build direct, trusted relationships with the audiences they serve."

"For years, publishers have invested in creating the content that attracts audiences, while much of the identity and commercial value around those audiences has been built elsewhere. We believe the next chapter of digital publishing will be about publishers knowing their audiences, building their own first-party relationships and creating value from those relationships."

"Seeing some of Sri Lanka's leading publishers come together around this vision is perhaps the most important outcome of this launch. Technology alone cannot transform an industry. It requires an ecosystem. What we launched is the foundation; what TruePass becomes tomorrow will be shaped by the publishers, readers and partners who build on it with us."

Sri Lankan technology behind TruePass

The technology and architecture behind TruePass were presented by Subodha Perera, Director of AdStudio and technology entrepreneur, who explained the thinking behind the platform's design and how its identity and authentication architecture supports a connected publisher ecosystem.

The platform currently uses mobile and email verification, creating a foundation upon which publishers can progressively develop richer authenticated digital experiences for their audiences.

Publisher sovereignty in a platform-dominated world

Providing the international industry perspective was Daniel Hess, a media and digital industry expert with more than 35 years of experience across markets including Switzerland, Germany, the UK, US, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Drawing on international publishing experience, including the Swiss market, Hess highlighted the strategic importance of publishers developing direct relationships with users and building consented first-party data. He emphasised the opportunity for publishers to strengthen digital sovereignty by retaining greater control over their audience relationships, data and the commercial value created around their content.

His keynote also highlighted the need for a healthier digital ecosystem in which publishers, advertisers, agencies and enabling partners can create more value around authenticated, consent-led audiences.

Audience-based campaign monetisation

One of the most significant opportunities unlocked by TruePass is a shift from selling anonymous impressions to monetising authenticated audiences. With readers recognised - with their consent - across participating publishers, advertisers and agencies can plan campaigns around defined, privacy-compliant audience segments that reach across the Alliance's combined network, rather than buying site by site and impression by impression.

For brands, this means greater relevance, less wastage and more meaningful engagement across premium, brand-safe Sri Lankan media environments. For the market, it offers a locally built alternative to audience targeting that has, until now, been largely shaped by global platforms.

A new opportunity for publishers

For publishers, authenticated audiences are a far more valuable asset than anonymous traffic. Audience-based campaigns allow publishers to command a premium for the readers they have earned, while participation in a shared network gives each publisher - regardless of size - access to campaign demand at a scale that would be difficult to reach alone.

The same identity foundation supports memberships, subscriptions, paywalls and personalised experiences, giving publishers a broader and more resilient mix of digital revenue streams and reducing their reliance on traffic and advertising value controlled by global platforms.

Raising the value of journalism, content and readers

TruePass is also designed to change how value is recognised across the publishing chain. When publishers understand who their readers are and how deeply they engage, quality journalism can be valued on the loyalty and attention it earns, not simply on the volume of clicks it generates.

This strengthens the case for investing in original reporting, specialist content and the journalists who produce it. For readers, it signals a relationship built on trust and consent - one in which the reader is recognised as a valued participant rather than an anonymous data point.

Beyond publishers

While TruePass has been launched with the publishing industry, its architecture is not limited to media. The same consent-led identity layer has the potential to extend to other data providers - such as telecommunications, retail, financial services and loyalty partners - creating a broader, privacy-first data ecosystem for Sri Lankan businesses and the advertisers who serve them.

Any such expansion would be built on the same principles as the platform itself: reader consent, transparency and control over how data is used.

The launch therefore represented more than the introduction of a new technology product. With some of Sri Lanka's leading digital publishers coming together through the TruePass Media Alliance, it marked the beginning of an industry-led effort to build the identity and first-party data foundations for the next phase of Sri Lanka's digital publishing industry.

TRUEPASSAuthenticate once. Access everywhere.

About TruePass

TruePass is a Sri Lankan-built digital identity and authentication platform developed by AdStudio.cloud for the digital publishing ecosystem. The first platform of its kind in Sri Lanka to connect a network of publishers through a shared identity layer, it enables simpler reader access while helping publishers build direct, authenticated and consent-led first-party audience relationships and unlock audience-based advertising and other digital revenue opportunities.

Media enquiries

TruePass / AdStudio.cloudEmail: info@truepass.cloudJayomi LokuliyanaCEO - TruePass / AdStudio.cloud