Does Worldcoin Invade Privacy? Worldcoin Explains Common Privacy Misconceptions

After the launch of Worldcoin, its iris-scanning behavior and privacy concerns have raised doubts and criticisms among many. Worldcoin recently released a FAQ to address several common misconceptions.

Do I need to provide personal information to use Worldcoin?

You do not need to enter any personal information to obtain or use the World App, the first wallet built for the Worldcoin project. No name, phone number, email, social data, selfies, passport, etc., are required.

World ID is a global identity protocol supported by the Worldcoin ecosystem, designed to achieve anonymous action. It is unrelated to your wallet, both are separate accounts with different keys, providing different functions. Anyone can use World ID without providing personal information such as name, email address, phone number, social data, etc. Everything is optional, and by default, no personal data is disclosed. Each holder can decide what personal data to share with third parties.

What privacy protection features does Orb have built-in?

Orb is equipped with a powerful computing component that can run multiple neural networks in real-time on the device. It can verify the authenticity of a person locally on the device without sending, uploading, or saving images. Similarly, a person's iris code or mathematical transformation of iris texture is also generated locally on Orb.

Does Orb store biometric images?

Worldcoin states that by default, Orb will immediately delete iris images after generating iris codes.

However, there may be situations where data collection occurs. Individuals can choose to opt-in to backup their images when verifying their World ID. This will share their iris images with Worldcoin for purposes like training iris detection and segmentation models for that project.

In terms of privacy, how is Orb different from other human authenticity proofs?

Worldcoin states that Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin considers dedicated biometric hardware as the most privacy-protective option currently available. Read: Vitalik Deep Dive into Worldcoin

Vitalik believes that although iris scanners may seem very "dystopian," in practice, Worldcoin has managed to prioritize user privacy and adopt an anonymity that other centralized identity verification projects do not implement.

How is World ID generated?

Worldcoin states that a user's World ID is generated on their device before any biometric verification takes place.

Biometrics are only used to verify a user's World ID and recover the World ID. Read: Iris Black Market Speculation.

The underlying biometric data will not be shared with any third parties when using World ID.

World ID is not a set of iris images, nor is it a digital iris code generated from these images.

Instead, the iris code outputted by Orb is compared to all other iris codes generated by all other Orbs previously. If the person has not been verified before, their World ID will be added to the verified World ID list. World ID is generated on the device, not derived from the iris images themselves.

What tools does World ID use to protect privacy? Zero-Knowledge Proof

Worldcoin states that when using World ID, Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) prevents third parties from knowing a person's public key or tracking their activities across different applications. ZKP also ensures that the use of World ID is not associated with any biometric data or the person's iris codes.

World ID uses an open-source protocol called Semaphore to ensure that the World ID data itself, public keys, and proofs of emptiness cannot be traced back to a user's identity or associated with verifications in other applications.

Can governments or private companies use World ID?

Worldcoin states that World ID is an open-source, permissionless protocol that anyone can use. All developer files are provided to the public for free. Importantly, ZKP prevents developers, including those contributing to Worldcoin itself and developing third-party applications, including government applications, from knowing the public key of World ID holders or tracking their activities across different applications.