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Worldcoin Privacy FAQs
Is personal information required to use Worldcoin?
You don’t need to enter any personal information to get or use World App, the first wallet built for the Worldcoin project. This means no name, no phone number, no email, no social profile, no selfie, no passport, etc.
World ID, a global identity protocol powered by the Worldcoin ecosystem, is designed to enable anonymous actions. It is not connected to your wallet—both are separate accounts with separate keys that serve different purposes. Anyone can use World ID without providing personal information such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, social profiles, etc.
Learn more about World App and World ID.
What privacy protection features are built into the Orb?
The Orb is equipped with a powerful computing unit to run several neural networks concurrently in real-time. This enables it to validate a person’s humanness locally on the device, without needing to send, upload or save images.
Similarly, a person’s iris code, or a mathematical representation of the iris texture, is generated locally on the Orb as well. More details on the iris code can be found in the technical implementation documentation of the Worldcoin whitepaper.
Learn more about the Orb.
Does the Orb store biometric images?
By default, the Orb promptly deletes iris images after the creation of the iris code. Individuals have the option to opt-in to back up their images when verifying their World ID. This shares their iris images with Worldcoin to train the project’s iris detection and segmentation models and similar algorithms.
How does the Orb compare to other proof of personhood options with regard to privacy?
In his in-depth look at proof of personhood, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin lists specialized biometric hardware as the most privacy preserving option currently available for proof of personhood solutions.
“On the whole,” wrote Buterin, “despite the ‘dystopian vibez’ of staring into an Orb and letting it scan deeply into your eyeballs, it does seem like specialized hardware systems can do quite a decent job of protecting privacy.”
How is World ID issued?
A person’s World ID is generated on the user’s device before any biometric checks take place. To receive a fully verified World ID, a person must visit an Orb in-person to verify their uniqueness and humanness via iris biometrics.
The Orb takes, processes and, by default, promptly deletes iris images on-device in order to create an iris code, which is a numerical representation of the texture of an iris. Absent explicit user consent otherwise, a message containing the iris code is the only output from this process. The iris code that the Orb outputs is compared against all other iris codes previously generated by all other Orbs. If the person has not been verified before, their World ID (which is generated on their device) is added to the list of verified World IDs.
Is the use of World ID linked to personal or biometric data?
World ID is designed to enable anonymous actions. It is not connected to your wallet—both are separate accounts with separate keys that serve different purposes.
Actions taken with World ID are not linked to a person's iris images or iris code, and third parties cannot link different actions taken with someone’s World ID through the World ID data.
What tools are used to protect privacy when using World ID?
When a person uses their World ID, a zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) is used to prevent third parties from knowing the person’s public key or tracking the person across applications. ZKPs also protect the use of World ID from being tied to any biometric data or the iris code of the person.
World ID uses an open source protocol known as Semaphore that, among other things, confirms the World ID data itself cannot be tracked to a person’s identity nor to verifications in other applications.
Can governments or private companies use World ID?
World ID is an open source, permissionless protocol that anyone can use. All of the developer docs are freely available to the public. Importantly, as stated above, ZKPs are used to prevent developers—those contributing to Worldcoin itself, as well as those developing third-party applications, including government applications—from knowing a World ID holder’s public key or tracking the person across applications. They also protect the use of World ID from being tied to any biometric data or the iris code of the person.
World ID uses an open source protocol known as Semaphore that, among other things, confirms the World ID data itself cannot be tracked to a person’s identity nor to verifications in other applications.
Where can I access more information about Worldcoin privacy?
Additional privacy resources can be found at the following links:
A more comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the Worldcoin project can be found in the Worldcoin whitepaper.
The above content speaks only as of the date indicated. Further, it is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and so may be incorrect and may change without notice. A full disclaimer can be found in our Terms of Use and Important User Information can be found on our Risks page.