Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Promised Them Free Crypto For An Eyeball Scan. Now They Feel Robbed.

A startup known as Worldcoin has been offering individuals the opportunity to receive free cryptocurrency in exchange for scanning their eyes. The company has been conducting field tests and gathering biometric data from participants. However, some users are feeling cheated and have concerns about privacy.

Worldcoin envisions a future where individuals have an Orb connected to their iris. This Orb would grant access to various web and blockchain-based applications. The startup’s primary source of revenue is expected to come from the appreciation of its currency, although they haven’t ruled out the possibility of charging fees for their services.

The Orbs are the crucial technology behind this concept, and Worldcoin is currently stress-testing them by carrying out tests in different environments. The company aims to assess how well the Orbs function under various conditions, such as extreme heat or freezing cold.

However, there are concerns surrounding Worldcoin’s objectives and practices. Some experts question whether the company is primarily a digital currency business or a data broker. Offering payment for biometric data raises issues related to privacy and fairness.

Worldcoin denies being a data company and states that their business model does not involve exploiting or selling personal user data. Instead, the company focuses solely on a user’s uniqueness and not their identity.

In addition, Worldcoin’s efforts to build its database may potentially violate data privacy and processing laws in Kenya, where the company conducts extensive operations. Kenya recently passed a data protection law that prohibits the transfer of biometric data abroad without approval from the Data Protection Commissioner.

Privacy advocates and security experts have raised concerns about Worldcoin’s practices, particularly regarding whether participants have given informed consent. The fact that Worldcoin’s terms and conditions, privacy policy, and data consent forms are only available in English raises further questions.

To address these concerns, Worldcoin plans to introduce its privacy form in multiple languages and have Orb operators explain the company’s policies to non-English speakers.

Additionally, there are security worries surrounding Worldcoin’s extensive biometric database. Any database of this nature is vulnerable to hacking, and if compromised, the Orbs could potentially jeopardize the entire system. Worldcoin claims to be developing fraud-detection mechanisms to identify compromised Orbs.