By Fabian Bodensteiner, Managing Director of World Foundation Europe

Have you ever wondered what happens to your data after you submit it in exchange for an online service? What would you do when faced with a lengthy list of “terms and conditions” – do you meticulously analyze each clause, or scroll to the bottom of the list and tick your agreement without hesitation?

Fabian Bodensteiner

Over the past decade, privacy has emerged as one of the most critical issues of our time, and for good reason. As governments and individuals intensify efforts to protect privacy and personal data of individuals, transparency and trust must be at the crux of any privacy conversation, between individuals, platforms, developers, and the authorities.

At World, trust is paramount, and honesty is the cornerstone of our principles. Our commitment to transparency and compliance is reflected in the integrity of our operations and detailed in our whitepapers. Guided by a steadfast dedication to safeguarding individual privacy and anonymity, our global, human-centered financial network has empowered more than 20 million individuals to date without sacrificing their privacy or identity.

Striking The Balance: Tackling AI Advancements and Privacy Challenges

So, what exactly is World, and where does your data go after you are verified by the Orb to prove you are a human and not a bot? At its core, World empowers individuals to confirm their unique human status without disclosing their identity or personal information. The process begins with the Orb, an advanced camera that takes pictures of an individual’s face and eyes for proof of humanness and uniqueness.

Using the AI technology inside the Orb, it generates a unique iris code that verifies the individual is real and unique—without the individual needing to reveal their identity. Importantly, the captured images are securely and exclusively transferred to the individual’s mobile device and immediately deleted from the Orb once the verification process is completed – World does not store the images.

While online, we may never truly know who’s on the other side of the screen — a human, a stolen identity, or even a bot. These uncertainties grow as cybersecurity threats continue to rise.

This privacy-first approach ensures that what’s on your device stays on your device. Neither World nor Tools for Humanity (TFH) retains any information used during the process. This innovative model, Personal Custody, grants individuals full control over their data, including the ability to delete it at any time, ensuring complete anonymity and security.

Human or Bots? World’s Future Innovation for Digital Trust

Due to the convenience and innovation that generative AI and bots offer, the growth rate in the number of bots is accelerating1 – it won’t stop anytime soon. While online, we may never truly know who’s on the other side of the screen — a human, a stolen identity, or even a bot. These uncertainties grow as cybersecurity threats continue to rise.

As awareness of these challenges increases, World has positioned itself as a crucial solution, providing equitable access to a decentralized network for financial empowerment, and ensuring a secure and privacy-preserving method to distinguish humans from bots. Through its Proof of Human system, World addresses the challenges posed by AI’s rapid expansion, offering a reliable, anonymous and secure method for human verification.

Thanks to its capability to distinguish humans from bots, World readies access to equal opportunities to every individual around the world. Individuals can download and use the World App and World ID without requiring personal identifiers such as names, email addresses, phone numbers or any other personal identifying information. This keeps them anonymous to third parties.

Complying with Authorities For a Safer Community

Transparency remains central to World’s mission. True to our commitment, neither World nor its contributors, such as Tools for Humanity (TFH), have ever shared or sold user data – and we never will, importantly there is no data to sell. Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) further ensure that individual activity remains anonymous and untraceable across applications while Anonymized Multi-Party Computation (AMPC) guarantees that the cryptographically processed iris data is rendered anonymous and never leaves the individual’s device.

World has been and will continue to proactively collaborate with regulatory bodies worldwide to exceed compliance standards and deliver a safe, secure, and transparent service to the public. In South Korea, a recent investigation by the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) found initial disclosure weaknesses during the platform’s launch.

These concerns have since been remedied, signifying that World’s operations now comply with the country’s Personal Information Protection Act. In World, we believe that working closely with regulatory authorities to resolve such gaps fosters a stronger foundation for creating a humanhood-proof network—one that is equitable and secure for participants around the globe.

Empowering Global Communities

At World, we believe that building trust within the community is essential, and that’s why we encourage voluntary participation in the World Network and ensure that individuals retain autonomy over their choices. World empowers individuals through transparency, security, anonymity, and autonomy, with all information about our mission and practices publicly available.

Participants have the exclusive ability to manage their data, which is securely stored on their personal devices, creating a trusted network where data belongs solely to the individual. A vision of increasing opportunities that are equal and equitable around the world, drives World.

By building the world’s largest identity and financial network, we aim to provide universal access to decentralized technologies.

About World

Initially developed by Sam Altman, Alex Blania and Max Novendstern, World is intended to be the world’s largest, most inclusive identity and financial public utility accessible by everyone: an open network supported by a global community of developers, individuals, economists, and technologists. Stewarded by the World Foundation, the project aims to expand global economic participation and accessibility.

About Tools For Humanity

Tools for Humanity (TFH) is a global technology company established to accelerate the transition towards a more just economic system. It led the initial development of World Network and operates World App. It is governed entirely independently of World Foundation. Over time, TFH will continue to develop important tools supporting World Network and beyond. To learn more, visit: https://www.toolsforhumanity.com/