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Text Content

 * Blog
 * Privacy
 * World ID
 * Learn
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 * Be a Worldcoin Operator
 * Careers
 * FAQs
 * Contact Us


 1. Blog
 2. Announcements
 3. Introducing World ID and SDK


INTRODUCING WORLD ID AND SDK

World ID is a new privacy-first protocol that brings global proof of personhood
to the internet.

03/14/2023
5 Minute Read

 * World ID is a new privacy-first decentralized identity protocol. It enables
   seamless sign in to websites, mobile apps and crypto dapps, while proving
   you’re a unique and real person without sharing personal data like names,
   emails, etc.
 * World ID supports multiple types of personhood verifications. At launch, this
   includes phone number verification for easy access to anyone with a
   smartphone and Orb biometric verification for extreme accuracy.
 * Early access for mobile, web and crypto apps to the World ID SDK is now
   available here.



Digital identity has been an open problem since the invention of the internet.
Even today, more than 50% of the world’s population doesn’t have a verifiable
legal ID. As we venture into the exciting new Age of Artificial Intelligence,
solving proof of personhood is more important than ever—specifically to ensure
democratic access and governance of these systems, fairly distribute the
benefits generated and know who and what to trust online.

Worldcoin aims to address this in a privacy-first, self-sovereign and
decentralized way. This is made possible through the World ID open protocol. If
successful, it will become the largest network of authentic humans on the
internet, as a public good.

Today we’re excited to share the first look at World ID—the underlying identity
protocol powered by zero-knowledge cryptography—and the SDK that will enable
developers to leverage this powerful new primitive.

FIG. 1

A person’s World ID as verified by an Orb.


WORLD ID AND PROOF OF PERSONHOOD

One way to think about World ID is as a global digital passport that lives
locally on its holder’s phone. World ID’s most important property is that the
holder can use it to prove that they are a real and unique person without
sharing personal data using zero-knowledge proofs.

World ID supports multiple types of verifications that accomplish this with
varying degrees of accuracy. At launch, this includes phone number verification
and privacy-preserving iris verifications as the flagship credential given its
inclusivity, scalability and robustness. 

The first hardware device to support this standard is the Orb, an open iris
imaging device developed by TFH. It’s mobile and easy to use, designed to
operate in untrusted environments and, above all, engineered to protect privacy
even beyond the zero-knowledge cryptography of the base protocol by running its
seven neural networks locally on-device. Learn more about the Orb.

Importantly, World ID is not derived from or tied to its holder’s biometrics,
phone number, crypto wallet or any other identifier. Following the passport
analogy, proof of personhood verifications—including the Orb’s—are essentially
stamps that allow the holder to prove that a specific passport has been
verified, without revealing information about the verification or the passport
itself.

FIG. 2

The Orb, which verifies a person’s biometrics and issues the relevant credential
to verify a person’s World ID.


USING WORLD ID

Getting your World ID

It’s as simple as downloading a compatible wallet, starting with World App. More
will be coming soon. Phone verification is available in most countries for users
and developers starting today. Given Worldcoin is still in Beta, Orb
availability is mostly limited to Argentina, Chile, India, Kenya, Portugal and
Spain, as well as demos at blockchain and identity conferences. A broader
rollout is expected later this year, and nearby devices can be found using the
World App.

Sign in with World ID

The simplest way to use World ID is as a sign in method. Upon selecting Sign in
with Worldcoin on a website, mobile app or crypto dapp, you approve or reject
the request from your self-custodial wallet to authenticate and prove you’re a
real and unique person.

One person does not always equal one account, so the system also supports
pseudonyms. Apps can allow their users to set up multiple accounts with one
World ID in such a way that only the user knows they all belong to their World
ID. This is useful if, for example, a social media app wants to limit people to
five verified profiles to prevent bots while maintaining privacy.

When signing in with Worldcoin, your World ID, app accounts, proof-of-personhood
verifications and wallets are not linked together. No one, not even Worldcoin
contributors or application developers, can track you across websites, identify
the World ID connected to your account or generally know more about you. Learn
more about the technical details of privacy.

To see what this looks like in action, visit the Worldcoin Discord and verify
with World ID to get special permissions.

FIG. 3

Person using Sign in with Worldcoin in the World App to authenticate for an app.

Anonymous Actions

While Sign in with Worldcoin is far beyond the state of the art of digital
privacy, some actions require an even more extreme level of protection. An
example of this is voting. Whether you’re talking about DAO governance or
government elections, it’s important that each person only votes once to
preserve the integrity of the results. It’s equally important that people are
able to do so in a privacy-preserving way.

For this reason, World ID also supports Anonymous Actions. In this setup,
instead of authenticating your World ID only one time in the given app, you
generate individual zero-knowledge proofs to show that you’re a real person that
has never performed that specific action before.


BUILDING WITH WORLD ID

Worldcoin is a permissionless protocol, which means anyone can integrate with it
without involvement from the teams that contribute to its development. The SDK
makes web, mobile and onchain integrations fast and simple. It includes tools
like a web widget (JS), Developer Portal, development simulator, examples,
guides and more. 

World ID is also designed to support existing open identity standards, including
OAuth 2.0 and OIDC (OpenID Connect) presently, and soon Verifiable Credentials
(VCs), Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Sign in with Ethereum (SIWE).

Developers interested in early access to the SDK Beta can register to the
waitlist, with a public rollout happening gradually over the following weeks. To
learn more about the protocol and SDK, you can also review the documentation.


APPLICATIONS AND USE CASES

Global proof of personhood will unlock a new generation of products and
services, many of which will be surprising even for those that spend their days
thinking about this. Still, the community has compiled a collection of some of
the applications that will emerge, including:

 * Social networks. Bot protection, community moderation, content attribution.
 * Voting. DAO governance, government elections, online polls, census.
 * Financial services. Undercollateralized lending, card fraud, compliance.
 * Customer incentives. Loyalty programs, coupons, referrals, free trials.
 * Marketplaces. Reputation, fake reviews, fake transactions, scalper
   prevention. 
 * Money distribution. Government welfare, non-profit aid, scholarships, crypto
   airdrops, UBI.


WHAT’S NEXT 

As momentum continues to build for Worldcoin with milestones such as crossing 1M
Beta signups (now 1.3M), opening up the Orb and laying the path to
decentralization, it’s important to remember that these are still the early days
and there is much left to be done as the project graduates from its Beta phase.

Development of the World ID Protocol and SDK will continue with upcoming
functionality such as authentication powered by on-device ZKML, alternative
personhood verifications including ZK KYC, and generic identity credentials with
support for selective disclosures and attestations. More details to come over
the next weeks and months. If you’re passionate about private digital identity
and want to help shape the future of World ID, please consider joining a team in
the ecosystem, supporting Semaphore and WalletConnect which enables pieces of
World ID, or contributing directly on Discord and GitHub.

In the meantime, we’re excited to hear the community’s feedback on this initial
preview and to see what developers around the world build with World ID.

Disclaimer

This content is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute
a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any investment and should not be
relied on as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. The content speaks only
as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets and/or
opinions expressed here reflect an attempt to describe the outcome if
Worldcoin’s mission is executed well; but such plans are subject to risks,
uncertainties and assumptions, and so may be incorrect and may change without
notice. Certain information here may have been obtained from third-party
sources. While such sources are believed to be reliable, the publisher has not
independently verified all such information and makes no representations as to
its accuracy. More details can be found in our Terms of Use.


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