Sam Altman’s World Project Brings Global Human Verification Badge to Tinder, Unveils New Corporate Partnerships

At a San Francisco event hosted this Friday, Sam Altman’s iris-scanning humanity verification initiative World announced a major global rollout: Tinder users worldwide can now add a unique digital badge to their dating profiles to prove they are real people to potential matches—so long as they have already completed an iris scan using one of World’s signature glossy white Orb devices.

The global expansion follows a pilot of World’s Tinder verification system the project previously ran exclusively in Japan, and marks one of the largest real-world tests for World to date. It is also the company’s biggest bet yet that ordinary consumers will be comfortable agreeing to biometric verification just to access everyday internet applications.

Founded in 2019 by Altman and co-founder Alex Blania, World was built to address a growing crisis: as AI grows more advanced, the internet is being flooded with highly convincing AI agents that make distinguishing real humans from bots extremely difficult, if not fully impossible. As firms like OpenAI (where Altman serves as CEO) and Anthropic push capable AI agents into widespread public use, the core problem World was created to solve has grown increasingly urgent.

Even so, World has yet to break through to mainstream adoption, and has faced consistent pushback from regulators around the world, who have launched probes into the company over alleged violations of global data protection rules. To date, Tools for Humanity—the parent company behind World—reports 18 million people have completed verification via an Orb, up from 12 million counted last year.

Alongside the global Tinder rollout, Tools for Humanity announced a slate of new consumer and enterprise partnerships at Friday’s Lift Off event. Verified Tinder users who connect their World ID will receive 5 free profile boosts, a normally paid feature that increases a profile’s visibility by up to 10x for 30 minutes. Other new integrations include:

• Videoconferencing platform Zoom, which now lets meeting hosts require all participants to complete World ID verification before joining a call

• E-signature service Docusign, which will allow users to mandate World’s identity verification for signees

Tiago Sada, chief product officer at Tools for Humanity, told WIRED that major platform partnerships are central to World’s goal of becoming a go-to mainstream identity verification technology. Sada added that the company is particularly keen to partner with social media platforms moving forward, and pointed to Reddit’s ongoing test of World as a bot-detection tool as an encouraging early sign.

| Got a Tip? |

|---|

| Do you have information about World or Tools for Humanity and want to talk about what's happening? We'd like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact the reporter securely on Signal at mzeff.88. |

World also unveiled a new tool called Concert Kit, which lets artists reserve concert tickets exclusively for verified humans. The product directly targets the bot-driven scalping crisis that critics say has long plagued major ticketing platforms like TicketMaster. No new hardware announcements or updates for existing devices were shared at Friday’s event.

World first released its iris-scanning Orb device in 2023, alongside a mobile app that hosts “mini apps” for a range of verification and blockchain-related services. When a user completes an iris scan with an Orb, the startup generates a unique cryptographic key for that individual, which becomes their World ID. This system creates a private, decentralized way to verify users online, eliminating the need for people to share their government-issued ID across dozens of different websites.

The project was originally launched under the name Worldcoin, and in its early days offered users free cryptocurrency in exchange for completing an iris scan. While World still offers a native crypto token and digital currency wallet, it rebranded to drop “coin” from its name in 2024 and has shifted its core focus to identity verification for the AI age. Jess Montejano, a spokesperson for Tools for Humanity, confirmed that the company still offers crypto as an incentive for new users, but has added new perks like free trial subscriptions to Netflix and Apple TV to attract more sign-ups.

Notably, while World’s core mission is to solve the online bot problem, the company does not support a full ban on AI agents accessing the internet. Earlier this year, it launched tools that link AI agents to a human’s World ID, designed to allow a limited number of bots to operate online on a user’s behalf. Tools for Humanity says it is currently partnering with Shopify and Vercel to support the use of these “human-backed AI agents” on their platforms.

Despite its growing list of corporate partnerships, Tools for Humanity has struggled to win regulatory approval from governments around the globe. Shortly after its 2023 public launch, Kenya, Spain, Portugal and multiple other countries temporarily paused World’s operations to investigate privacy concerns. While some nations have since lifted restrictions and allowed World to resume operations, Brazil and other countries maintain long-term bans that block the startup from expanding there. World has previously noted that many of these restrictions were temporary pauses, not permanent full bans.

In Sada’s view, most regulatory conflicts stem from misunderstanding how World’s technology works. “The idea that World ID is not just private, but one of the most private identity tools you’ve ever used, isn’t obvious to most people,” Sada said. “We’re just not used to this kind of technology. When Face ID first launched on iPhones, many people covered the sensor with tape before we all got used to it.”

A key open question for the startup is whether it will one day partner with Altman’s other high-profile company, OpenAI, as OpenAI develops its own line of AI-powered hardware products. Sada said he has no knowledge of OpenAI’s hardware development efforts, and reiterated that while Altman is a founder of World, OpenAI and Tools for Humanity are completely separate entities.

Lauren Goode contributed reporting to this article.

---

Correction (4/22/26 5:30 pm EDT): Tools for Humanity initially announced its Concert Kit product would first roll out on Bruno Mars’ World Tour. Spokespeople for the artist, Live Nation, and Tools for Humanity have since confirmed that no such partnership ever existed, and the startup has updated its media materials to reflect its new partnership with band Thirty Seconds to Mars.