April 15, 2026
Papers, Please: AI Edition
Claude may require identity verification in some cases
Show your ID to chat with Claude? Users revolt
TLDR: Anthropic says some Claude features may require a government ID and selfie via Persona to fight abuse and meet laws. Comments erupted with privacy fears, distrust of Persona, confusion over vague “some cases,” and threats to ditch Claude for local AI—raising big questions about IDs becoming the ticket to advanced tools.
Anthropic just told users that some features of its AI assistant, Claude, will now ask for identity checks—a government ID plus a quick selfie—handled by partner Persona. The company says it’s about stopping abuse and following the law, promises the images aren’t used to train AI, and stresses encryption and strict limits. But the comment section lit up like a bonfire.
The loudest chorus? “No ID for APIs.” One developer fumed that if this becomes real, it’s “goodbye” to Claude, while another vowed to spin up a local, offline chatbot instead. Others zeroed in on the ambiguity: Anthropic didn’t spell out exactly which cases trigger verification, prompting anxiety about surprise prompts and creeping requirements. Trust issues ran hot, too—several users slammed Persona by name, calling it untrustworthy and asking why big companies keep using it.
Of course, there were workarounds and memes. One commenter mused about gaming age checks and resetting accounts with data requests—drawing instant backlash from others calling it shady. Meanwhile, jokesters imagined an “AI bouncer” at the club door: no selfie, no chat. The split is sharp: some accept IDs as the cost of safer tools, but the louder vibe is privacy panic and threat of a developer exodus to local models. The stakes? Whether showing your face becomes the new price of talking to a smarter bot.
Key Points
- •Anthropic is rolling out identity verification for select use cases to prevent abuse, enforce policies, and meet legal obligations.
- •Persona Identities is the chosen verification partner, and the process typically completes in under five minutes using a government-issued photo ID and camera.
- •Accepted IDs include passports, driver’s licenses/state IDs, and national ID cards; photocopies, scans, digital/mobile IDs, non-government, and temporary paper IDs are not accepted.
- •Anthropic is the data controller, Persona is the processor; ID data and selfies are stored by Persona, encrypted in transit and at rest, and deleted per set retention limits and applicable law.
- •Verification data is not used for model training or marketing; if verification fails, users can retry, ensure ID legibility, or contact support, and bans may occur for policy violations.