World’s iris scan badge for “real human” rolls out on Tinder

In short: Tinder users worldwide can add a “verified human” badge if they have already scanned their eyes with World’s Orb device.

What happened

World, an identity verification project co-founded by Sam Altman and Alex Blania, said Tinder users around the globe can now show a digital badge on their profiles to signal they are a real person. To get it, a user must have created a World ID by looking into one of World’s white “Orb” devices, which scans the iris (the colored ring in your eye).

The company behind World, Tools for Humanity, said this follows an earlier test of the Tinder feature in Japan. It also said 18 million people have been verified with an Orb, up from 12 million last year.

At the same event in San Francisco, the company announced other partnerships. Zoom users can require participants to verify with World before joining a call. Docusign will allow customers to require World verification for signing documents.

World also announced “Concert Kit,” a tool meant to help artists reserve tickets for verified humans, as a response to ticket scalping bots (automated accounts that buy tickets fast, like having hundreds of people hitting “buy” at once). The company plans to test it with a Bruno Mars tour date featuring Anderson .Paak.

Why it matters

More online services are dealing with fake accounts and automated bots, including on dating apps. World is betting that some people will accept biometric checks (body-based ID, like a fingerprint or eye scan) to prove they are human online. The idea is to avoid uploading a government ID to many different apps, but World has also faced questions from regulators in several countries about privacy and data protection.

Source: Wired