# World ID 8 Hacker News commenters recommended World ID and 30 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Aims to prove that a user is a real human without revealing their name, to counter bots and AI fakes online. Critics say iris scans and stored identity data create serious privacy and leak risks. ## Why people recommend it - Proves humanity amid AI and bots (3 comments): "with the proliferation of AI, it makes sense we'll eventually need safeguards to ensure a user's humanity" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45790646)) "I think World ID (formerly Worldcoin) can be a really cool part of the solution to this" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49770862)) "The Internet is unusable nowadays because of bots." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47927281)) ## What people warn about - Biometric and identity data leak risk (3 comments): "I fail to see how this solves the "prove you're a human" problem, when those credentials will then inevitably leak, be stolen or resold." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47866188)) "Massive database of 1 billion people's unique genital IDs stolen by hackers and posted on Reddit" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47928460)) "doesn't require submitting scans of your ID to third parties that can then be stored and leak" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47866055)) - Mass surveillance and privacy erosion (4 comments): "Got shut down pretty hard in a bunch of places as a potentially illegal invasion of privacy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45820926)) "His solution to distinguishing humans from bots is mass biometric surveillance." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47201688)) "It erodes our right to privacy and should be shouted down at every opportunity." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47926696)) - Distrust of founder Sam Altman (4 comments): "Sam Altman would love to sell you a solution for the unfortunate fire that he dumped gasoline on." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47340401)) "so we're trusting the guy who created tech to make it easier for bots to exist on the internet" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47926806)) "Giving your retina scan to one of the main Slop Bros, what could possibly go wrong?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47586538)) - Blockchain hype and dystopian premise (2 comments): "this idiotic project is running so long after the "blockchain for everything" mania ended" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47926863)) "People were sort of making fun of the whole company and the dystopian premise" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48514828)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Persona identity verification](https://hackerapproved.com/p/persona.md): 27 recommend - [Keybase](https://hackerapproved.com/p/keybase.md): 11 recommend - [Didit](https://hackerapproved.com/p/didit.md): 11 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://world.org) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "World ID", https://hackerapproved.com/p/world-id/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).