Anthropic has begun asking some users of its AI chatbot Claude to verify their identity using government-issued IDs, a move that could lead to account bans if violations are detected.

The company recently introduced an “identity verification” safeguard that, in certain cases, requires users to submit a passport, driver’s licence or other government ID along with a live selfie. The rollout currently applies only to “a few use cases,” according to its Help Center.

Why are users being asked for ID

Anthropic said the checks are triggered in situations where user activity raises red flags.

“This applies to a small number of cases where we see activity that indicates potentially fraudulent or abusive behaviour, which violates our usage policy,” an Anthropic spokesperson said, according to a Business Insider report.

If such activity is confirmed, users risk losing access to Claude. The company’s Help Center states that accounts may be banned for reasons including repeated violations of its usage policy, account creation from unsupported locations, breaches of terms of service or usage by individuals under 18.

How your data is being handled

Anthropic said it remains the “data controller,” meaning it sets the rules on how identity data is used and stored. However, the actual collection and storage of this data is handled by Persona Identities, a third-party identity verification provider.

Persona is contractually required to use the data “only to provide and support verification and to improve their ability to prevent fraud,” the company said.

Anthropic also clarified what it is not doing with the data. “We are not collecting more than we need,” the company wrote in its Help Center, adding that it does not train its AI models on ID verification data or share it beyond Anthropic and Persona, except where legally required.

Users push back

The rollout has already sparked backlash among some Claude users, particularly on social media platform X. Screenshots shared online show prompts asking users for a “quick identity check” that requires ID submission and camera access, with the process described as taking about two minutes.

“Anthropic making unexplainable decisions,” one user wrote, while another said, “We are living in 1984.”