Users of Anthropic's Claude AI platform will soon need to provide government-issued ID such as a passport or driving licence in order to use the service.
The company confirmed users will need to provide ID to access "certain capabilities" within Claude AI tools, but claimed it was part of its "routine platform integrity checks".
Claude user data
"Being responsible with powerful technology starts with knowing who is using it," a Claude Support post outlining the news explained. "Identity verification helps us prevent abuse, enforce our usage policies, and comply with legal obligations."
"We are rolling out identity verification for a few use cases, and you might see a verification prompt when accessing certain capabilities, as part of our routine platform integrity checks, or other safety 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 your webcam, to prove their identity, with the company saying the whole process "typically takes under five minutes".
Government-issued ID "from most countries" will be accepted, so long as it includes a photo of the user - for example, a passport, driver's license or state/provincial ID card, or national identity 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 technology platforms, but given the recent controversies around some of Anthropic's services, users may be concerned about the security of their data.
The company says as it is the data controller for the information, it sets the rules for how it is used and how long it is stored. The data will be held on Persona systems, processing on Anthropic's behalf, meaning the latter can access verification records through Persona's platform when needed, eg if it needs to review an appeal, but it does not copy or store those images.
Anthropic was also very clear to outline it is not using the identity data to train its models, noting, "verification data is used solely to confirm who you are and to meet our legal and safety obligations" and that it is asking for the minimum amount required to verify a user's identity.
"We are not sharing your identity data with anyone else," it added. "Verification data stays between you, Persona, and Anthropic, except where we're 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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