World insists it has humanity’s best interest in mind. A newly published explainer aims to clear up misconceptions.

World has announced the creation of more than 23 million World IDs – an impressive feat, considering how it has struggled to explain itself in the face of

World has announced the creation of more than 23 million World IDs. Now, the organization has swatted back at reports that Brazilian privacy watchdogs have banned Tools of Humanity (TFH) – a company whose association with World has shifted over time, but which is run by World co-founder Alex Blania – from offering cryptocurrency or financial compensation in exchange for biometric data.

World says an “ongoing misinformation campaign shared on social media” gets it wrong on its system for establishing digital ID and proof of personhood (PoP) through iris biometrics. The notion that it trades cryptocurrency tokens in exchange for biometrics is a “false narrative” that “stems from a misunderstanding about the project.”

“There is absolutely no exchange of money or tokens when a person verifies their World ID,” says a statement on World’s website.

Presumably, the argument is semantic. It is well documented by authoritative sources that World, in its previous incarnation as Worldcoin, allocated WLD tokens to users who signed up for a World ID by having their iris biometrics scanned by World’s capture device, the Orb.

Per a 2023 report by the BBC, “the process starts with scanning your face and iris to prove you are a person. It takes about 10 seconds to stare into the Orb’s camera lens and wait for a beep to confirm it has worked.

The next step is that your iris scan is given a unique number which is checked against the giant database to make sure it’s the first time you’ve done it. If so, the ball beeps again and you are now on the database along with 2.06 million other humans at the time of writing. 25 free Worldcoin tokens are awarded on completion which are currently valued at roughly $2 (£1.56) each.”

Biometric Update also reported on the token scheme in 2023: “People enrolling with an orb are paid 25 Worldcoin tokens, a sum valued at US$27.75 on deadline.” The scheme initially offered stablecoin, but made the switch to its native digital token, WLD.

World cannot allocate tokens on enrollment in the U.S. The project has reportedly collected most of its biometric sign-ups in Europe, India and Africa. It has tended to see successful uptake in lower-income economies.

However, regulators in every corner of the world have raised objections to its biometric data collection activities, citing a lack of clarity on consent and questions about the scanning of underage users. Kenyan regulators declared it a threat to the nation’s statehood. It was raided in Hong Kong. Spain banned it. South Korea and Argentina fined it. Portugal and the Dominican Republic suspended its operations. A German regulator found that its biometric collection practices do not comply with the GDPR.

A newly published explainer from World aims to clear up misconceptions about the project. Yet part of World’s problem is that it cannot seem to manage communication outside of its branded bubble – which, as many have noted, has unfortunate overtones of dystopian science fiction. The explainer begins by stating that “World is the real human network, bringing identity, finance and community to every human.”

Even a mildly critical reading exposes massive gaps in that introductory definition.

Further clarification is not much better. World distinguishes four components of its network. World ID, it says, is “World’s digital proof of human” – effectively a nonsense phrase for World’s Proof of Personhood (PoP) protocol. World App, meanwhile, is “the first World wallet. Built by Tools for Humanity (TFH), World App holds your World ID, allows you to explore and use crypto and stablecoins, hosts native Mini Apps and more.”

It is hard to imagine that World is completely unaware of the irony of an explainer, published in response to allegations that it offered tokens for biometrics, detailing its fundamental connection to cryptocurrency.

WLD, it says, is “freely available to be claimed by all verified and eligible* humans for both utility and future governance.” The asterisk points to fine print diving that “eligibility for Worldcoin (WLD) tokens is restricted based on geography, age, and other factors” and that “Crypto products can be highly risky.”

It is this undercurrent of disingenuousness that puts wobbly legs under World’s claims that it does not collect, store or sell any personal data, including iris biometrics. Its explainer specifies that “once a person’s World ID is verified, the images taken by the camera during the verification process are sent to the person’s phone, permanently deleted from the Orb and not stored by World. This is known as Personal Custody, and it’s how World ensures that individuals are in full control of their own information and identity.”

And that, perhaps, points to its most vexing internal contradiction. World wants us to believe it “was founded to develop the tools and infrastructure