The Orb checks that you are real and that you have not signed up before. It does this by capturing and processing images of you and your unique iris pattern. Since no two people have the same iris pattern and these patterns are very hard to fake, the Orb can accurately tell you apart from everyone else without having to collect any other information about you — not even your name.
Importantly, the images of you and your iris pattern are permanently deleted as soon as you have signed up, unless you opt in to Data Custody to reduce the number of times you may need to go back to an Orb. Either way, the images are not connected to your Worldcoin tokens, transactions, or World ID.
Your biometric data is first processed locally on the Orb and then permanently deleted. The only data that remains is your IrisCode. This IrisCode is a set of numbers generated by the Orb and is not linked to your wallet or any of your personal information. As a result, it really tells us — and everyone else — nothing about you. All it does is stop you from being able to sign up again.
Since you are not required to provide personal information like your name, email address, physical address or phone number, this means that you can easily sign up without us ever knowing anything about you.
Your biometric data is first processed locally on the Orb and then sent, via encrypted communication channels, to our distributed secure data stores, where it is encrypted at rest. Once it arrives, your biometric data is permanently deleted from the Orb.
Your biometric data is not linked to any of your personal information, your IrisCode or your wallet. If you choose to back up your biometric data with us, you may revoke your consent at any time and the data will be deleted.
Remember, this section is only relevant to you if you sign up at an Orb. If you want to participate in the Worldcoin network without visiting an Orb, you will still be able to do so, you just won’t receive a World ID or your free share of Worldcoin.
Your Worldcoin App is your self-custodial wallet. That means, just like a physical wallet, that no banks, governments or corporations can do anything to it — like lose or freeze your money — you’re in complete control.
You also don’t need to enter any personal information to get or use the App. But even if you do, you can rest assured that, unlike others, we will never sell or try to profit from your personal information.
DownloadOnce you have a World ID, you can use it to anonymously prove that you are a real and unique person. Importantly, developers — including us — cannot see what you have used your World ID for in the past; they can just see what you are trying to use it for when you use it.
This is made possible by Zero-Knowledge Proofs, which prove both that your World ID is real and that you have never done the action you are trying to do before, without ever linking your World ID to you.
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