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Worldcoin, the blockchain-based eyeball-scanning identifier, has launched a new layer of security known as Face Auth.
The feature is a facial comparison tool designed to be activated exclusively by the person who has already verified their digital identification, or ‘World ID’.
Backed by Sam Altman, Worldcoin attempts to verify “humanness” by scanning a person’s iris using a spherical biometric device called The Orb. This generates a digital ID as well as a crypto token, which can be used to make transactions.
Worldcoin is already used by more than six million people worldwide, including tech platforms Discord and Reddit, which use it to allow users to log in to their services safely.
Motivation for the project is partly driven by the advances in technology, making it increasingly difficult to determine if digital content has been created by a human rather than AI.
Damien Kieran, the chief privacy officer for Tools for Humanity, the Worldcoin’s developer, told Newsweek that Face Auth creates an element of security that goes beyond what Apple’s Face ID can offer.
“It’s a unique match between the person seeking to use the World ID and the person who made the World ID,” he said.
“It’s way more secure than anything we can do with Face ID,” stated Kieran who went on to explain how Face ID can’t tell the difference between him and his identical twin. This means a twin can unlock a device without consent.
Conversely, Face Auth goes beyond to scan different angles of your face to ensure a match with the photo in the system.
Worldcoin As A Protocol Standard
To use Face Auth as a Worldcoin user, you take a selfie on your phone which is matched to the scan taken by The Orb. The company states the device is more secure than any smartphone and what they are capable of.
The Orb secures the images together, takes a copy of the iris code and encrypted secure key, and passes the data back to your device where it remains.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has spoken of future ambitions for “universal basic compute”. As part of this vision, Worldcoin could be a secure method to deliver the safety net of a universal basic income to citizens.
It is all about building a trusted network and a protocol standard, similar to how tech players like Apple, Samsung, etc., have combined to use the USB-C charger as an interoperable standard.
