On Monday, the Worldcoin team unveiled two significant upgrades that will improve the security of personal data and enhance the age verification process. The new development aims to address the data privacy concern facing Worldcoin.
The project was launched last year by the chief executive of OpenAI, Sam Altman, to differentiate humans from artificial intelligence (AI) bots. The project involves verifying humanity by scanning peoples eyeballs using an advanced tool called orb.
Worldcoin Seeking to Address Privacy Concerns
After scanning the eyeball and completing the preliminary registration process, the applicant was issued a digital identity and free Worldcoin native tokens (WLD). The free tokens encouraged thousands to sign up for the Worldcoin projects.
Shortly after Worldcoin became popular the regulators raised concerns on the privacy of the biometric data collected by the Worldcoin team. The heightened regulatory scrutiny facing Worldcoin forced Altman-led project to develop measures to safeguard the biometric data.
In its March 8 announcement, the Worldcoin team unveiled plans to upgrade the system to address privacy concerns. Firstly the Worldcoin team will add an option that allows the user to request the platform to remove the identification number and the iris code generated after the eyeball scan.
This implies that the new upgrade will enable the user to unverify the World ID issued during the eyeball scanning. The World ID resembles a digital passport that verifies a human from bot on the orbs.
The latest update allows the user to conduct an in-person age verification to prevent minors from accessing the Worldcoin project.Initially, Worldcoin targeted persons above the age of 18.
Worldcoin to Allow Users Unverify World ID
A few months ago, Worldcoin was accused of registering individuals under 18 which was against the law. According to the announcement, once an individual has initiated the process to delete World ID, the user identification number will become invalid. It implies that the invalid World ID will automatically be inactive for a given period.
The Worldcoin team confirmed that the digital ID will remain invalid for six months to prevent fraud and misuse of data. During the cool-off period the, Worldcoin will restrict the owner of the invalid ID from re-verifying his humanness.
At the cool-off stage, the Worlcoin will permanently remove the iris code from the platform. The removal of the World ID option on the Worldcoin demonstrated the commitment of the platform to comply with the existing regulations.
To boost the compliance level of Worldcoin the project consulted security and privacy experts working closely with the government authority including the officials from Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (BayLDA).
Global Regulators Suspends Worldcoin Operations
In the second upgrade Worldcoin will enable the user to conduct in-person verifications. The new feature aims to restrict minors from accessing the Worldcoin project. This means that the eligible users for the Worldcoin must be above the age of 18 years.
In the report, Worldcoin will conduct on-site age verification checks before proceeding with the eyeball scanning. The on-site verification checks will be conducted in collaboration with third-party personnel.
A statement from the Worldcoin spokesperson revealed that the applicant must be above 18 years to obtain the World ID. The representative confirmed that Worldcoin have requested the users to verify on the application that they meet the new requirements.
The official stated that two upgrades aimed at enabling Worldcoin attain the end goal. During the launch of the Worldcoin project, Altman noted that the new initiative aims to leverage the power of proof of personhood to develop a global financial and identity network.
Month after the launch of Worldcoin, the regulators imposed restrictive measures impacting the suspension of the project in most jurisdictions. The suspension of Worldcoin operations in Kenya, Spain, Portugal among other countries forced the Altman and team to take strategic action to comply with the regulation.
In retaliation to the ongoing privacy concerns, Worldcoin confirmed that it will strengthen the protection of personal biometric data. To align its operation with the regulatory requirements, Worldcoin launched Personal Custody to grant user control of their data.
The Personal Custody allows the users to store their data on their gadgets and smartphones. With the ongoing development of Worldcoin, around 5 million people have registered on the platform.
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