World, the Sam Altman-backed digital identity project, on Friday unveiled what it calls its most significant upgrade yet to World ID, positioning the system as “full-stack proof-of-human” infrastructure aimed at consumers, businesses and AI agents.
The overhaul, announced at an event in San Francisco, comes as concerns rise across the tech industry about bots, deepfakes and AI agents impersonating people online, a trend the world is explicitly targeting with a broader push in authentication, payments and internet services. Altman’s other big project is OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and tools that use the big language model AI platform.
The world’s system relies on its purpose-built “Orb” devices to establish what it calls proof-of-humanity. To get a World ID, users must visit an Orb in person, where the device scans their face and iris to generate a unique cryptographic code representing that person.
According to the company, the images are deleted after processing, and only anonymized fragments of the code are sent over a distributed network to confirm that the person has not previously registered. The result is a credential that can prove someone is a unique human online without revealing their identity or personal data. However, some critics have flagged the use of biometric scanning via Orb as a controversial aspect of the system.
At the heart of the update is a redesigned architecture to improve privacy, security and ease of use. New features include account-based identity, multi-key support, recovery mechanisms, which provide the features typically expected in large-scale security systems.
The company is also introducing a dedicated World ID app, currently in beta, that allows users to manage credentials and authenticate across platforms. The app reflects a broader ambition to make proof of human identity as seamless as logging into a social media account.
From dating apps to Zoom calls
Alongside the protocol update, World described a series of integrations aimed at embedding its identity layer across consumer platforms.
On the consumer side, the company is expanding partnerships with platforms like Tinder, where users can display a “verified human” badge, and rolling out “Concert Kit,” a tool designed to help artists reserve tickets for verified people to combat scalper bots.
Gaming and online communities are another focus, with partnerships involving Razer and Mythical Games, while Reddit has signaled it is exploring similar identity tools for bot detection.
Enterprise use cases are also central to the rollout. World said it is working with Zoom on a feature called “Deep Face,” which verifies that a meeting attendee is a real human rather than a deepfake, and with Docusign to incorporate proof-of-human checks into digital agreements.
In addition, World is rolling out new tools, including “AgentKit,” to allow developers to attach credentials that prove there are humans to agents that will be needed for sensitive actions and enable agent-based commerce tied to verified individuals.
The company is working with companies including Okta, Vercel and Browserbase on these capabilities, which aim to establish a layer of trust for automated workflows without requiring personal data.
“World ID is on its way to becoming a real human network for the Internet,” Sam Altman, co-founder of World, said at an event marking the announcement in San Francisco.
Read more: Sam Altman’s world encryption project launches in the US with eye scanners in 6 cities
