World, the biometric ID verification project co-founded by Sam Altman, released the latest version of its app today, introducing several new features, including the integration of encrypted chat and an expanded Venmo-like ability to send and request encryption.
World was created by the startup Tools for Humanity in 2019 and originally launched its app in 2023. The company says that, in a world awash in digital counterfeiting created by artificial intelligence, it hopes to create digital “proof-of-human” tools that can help separate humans from robots.
During a small gathering at World headquarters in San Francisco on Thursday, Altman and World co-founder and CEO Alex Blania briefly introduced the new version of the app (which the developers called a “super app”) before the product team took over to explain the new features. During his remarks, Altman said the idea for Cosmos came out of discussions he and Blania had about the need to create a new kind of economic model. This model, based on web3 principles, is what World is trying to achieve through the verification network. “It’s really hard to both identify unique people and do that in a privacy-preserving way,” Altman said.
World Chat, the app’s new messenger, seems designed to do just that. It uses end-to-end encryption to keep users’ conversations secure (this encryption is described as equivalent to Signal, the privacy-focused messenger), and also leverages color-coded speech bubbles to alert users whether the person they’re talking to has been verified by the World system or not, the company said. The idea is to incentivize verification, giving people the power to know if the person they’re talking to is who they say they are. The conversation was initially released in beta in March.
The other big feature unveiled on Thursday was an expanded digital payments system that allows app users to send and receive cryptocurrencies. The World app has been working as a digital wallet for quite some time now, but the latest version of the app includes wider features. Using virtual bank accounts, users can also receive payment checks directly in the World App and make deposits from their bank accounts, which can then be converted into crypto. You have not been verified by World’s authentication system to use these features.
Tiago Sada, World’s Chief Product Officer, told TechCrunch that part of the reason chat was added was to create a more interactive experience for users. “What we keep hearing from people is that they wanted a more social World app,” Sada said. World Chat is designed to meet this need by creating what Sada says is a secure way to communicate. “It took a lot of work to build this feature-rich messenger that’s similar to a WhatsApp or a Telegram, but with encryption and security for something much closer to Signal,” Sada said.
World (which was originally called Worldcoin) is developing a unique authentication process: interested people scan their eyes at one of the company’s offices, where the Orb – a large verification device – converts the person’s iris into a unique and encrypted digital code. This code, the verified World ID, can then be used by the individual to interact with the ecosystem of World services available through their app.
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The addition of more social-friendly features is clearly intended to lead to wider adoption of the app, which makes sense since scaling verification is the company’s main challenge. Altman said he would like the project scan the eyes of a billion peoplebut Tools for Humanity claims it has scanned fewer than 20 million people.
Since standing in long lines at a corporate office to get your eyes scanned by a giant metal ball might seem a little less than enticing to some users, the company has already sought to make the verification process less cumbersome. In April, Tools for Humanity announced Orb Minis — handheld, phone-like devices — that allow users to scan their eyes from the comfort of their own homes. Blania told TechCrunch that eventually the company would like to turn the Orb Minis into a portable point-of-sale device or sell its ID sensor technology to device makers. If the company takes such steps, it would significantly lower the barrier to verification, potentially inspiring much more widespread adoption.
