Users of Anthropic’s Claude AI platform will soon be required to provide a government-issued ID, such as a passport or driver’s license, to use the service.
The company confirmed that users will need to provide identification to access “certain features” of Claude AI tools, but claimed this was part of its “routine platform integrity checks.”
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Claude’s user data
“Being responsible with powerful technology starts with knowing who is using it,” explains an article by Claude Support describing the news. “Identity verification helps us prevent abuse, enforce our usage policies, and comply with our legal obligations.”
“We are rolling out identity verification for a few use cases, and you may see a verification prompt when you access certain features, as part of our routine platform integrity checks, or other security and compliance measures.”
As part of the verification process, Anthropic says users may also be asked to take a live selfie with your phone or webcam to prove their identity, with the company saying the entire process “typically takes less than five minutes.”
Government-issued IDs “from most countries” will be accepted, provided they include a photo of the user – for example, a passport, driver’s license or state/provincial ID card, or a national ID card.
Photocopies, screenshots, scans or photos of a photo will not be accepted, nor will digital or mobile IDs, student IDs, employee badges, library cards, bank cards or temporary paper IDs.
Providing ID is typical for accessing some tech platforms, but given recent controversies surrounding some Anthropic services, users may be concerned about the security of their data.
The company says that as data controller, it sets the rules for its use and retention period. The data will be held on Persona systems and processed on Anthropic’s behalf, meaning Anthropic will be able to access verification records through the Persona platform when needed, for example if it needs to review an appeal, but it will not copy or store these images.
Anthropic also made clear that it does not use identity data to train its models, noting that “verification data is used only to confirm who you are and to meet our legal and security obligations” and that it charges the minimum amount required to verify a user’s identity.
“We don’t share your identity data with anyone else,” he adds. “Verification data remains between you, Persona and Anthropic, except where we are legally required to respond to valid legal processes. Your verification data is never shared with third parties for marketing, advertising, or any purpose unrelated to verification and compliance.”
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