Worldcoin strengthens privacy checks, allowing users to verify their world identity

Worldcoin, a digital identity and encryption project developed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is adding new features to increase the protection of personal data and improve age verification.

On April 9, WorldCoin announced two improvements: the ability to verify World IDs with permanent iris code deletion and physical age verification.

World ID holders can now verify their World ID, a digital passport that verifies the humanity of individuals using “Orbos,” devices that scan users' eyeballs to verify they are real people.

Verifying the World ID involves permanently erasing the user's iris code, a digital representation of their unique iris texture. Iris Code ensures that individuals can verify only one global ID.

Once cancellation is requested, the individual's World ID will be invalid. To prevent fraud, the process requires a six-month “cooling off” period to ensure that individuals cannot immediately prove their humanity.

At the end of the cooling-off period, users' iris codes will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

Worldcoin's new authentication option was developed in consultation with third-party privacy and security experts, including the Bavarian State Data Protection Supervisory Office (BayLDA).

According to the startup, Bayelda is the main regulatory authority for Worldcoin in the European Union.

The second update – Worldcoin physical age verification – will be introduced to ensure that the platform is only available to people over 18 years of age.

The update includes age verification on all Orbi locations before World ID verification. The third party staff will perform the check before entering the place, the announcement notes.

A WorldCoin spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “WorldCoin has always required individuals to be at least 18 years of age to obtain a World ID.

Similar to other applications widely used today, individuals are asked to verify that they meet this requirement within the application.

Altman, the creator of OpenAI – the company behind the natural language processing chat GPT – founded WorldCoin in 2015. By July 2023, it has launched a goal to provide a “global financial and identity network based on physical authentication”.

Worldcoin has received mixed reactions from the community, with many questioning its centrality, privacy and security.

Related: Ton's $5M Incentive Program Aims to Drive Digital Identity Verification

Some governments have become skeptical about Worldcoin's security and privacy. Worldcoin's EU supervisor Bayelda reportedly launched an investigation into Worldcoin due to privacy concerns months before its official launch.

In the year By the end of 2023, WorldCoin had discontinued its offline Orb verification functionality for users in India, with the intention of restoring the service later in 2024.

In the year In August 2023, WorldCoin was banned in Kenya, with the government halting all local activities related to the platform, including biometric identification. Worldcoin has been working with the Kenyan government to continue operations.

In the year By March 2024, WorldCoin has announced that it will operate legally wherever it is located and fully comply with relevant laws.

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