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The Human Institute and Animoca Brands are launching a new human identity project that uses palm recognition instead of iris scanning. The project may compete with Worldcoin in the area of data rights and will be available for third-party applications in the near future.
A new palm recognition project will use a Proof of Humanity consensus mechanism that preserves users’ identities and data sovereignty.
How the Humanity Protocol is Different
The Humanity Protocol uses the Polygon Labs’ Chain Development Kit to develop a blockchain that can resist a Sybil attack. According to the organization, the new product combines the digital rights expertise of Animoca with new blockchain technology. Animoca’s co-founder, Yat Siu, says the non-invasive protocol will be crucial to the next wave of decentralized products.
“Existing Proof-of-Personhood technologies can be invasive, complex, or burdensome…By leveraging the cutting-edge technology using non-invasive biometrics…Humanity Protocol is building a user-centric ecosystem that can onboard millions to a verifiable digital identity solution that is truly decentralized and respects the principles of true digital ownership,” he said.
Read more: What Is Worldcoin? A Guide to the Iris-Scanning Crypto Project
The protocol combines one-of-a-kind identification certainty while preserving the users’ data sovereignty. The team behind the palm recognition project has extensive experience in machine learning models, which the press release says is crucial for scaling decentralized digital identity applications. The Humanity Protocol will onboard users to its testnet soon.
Worldcoin’s Data Privacy Concerns
The Humanity Protocol arguably competes with Worldcoin’s proof-of-personhood method for identifying unique individuals. Worldcoin’s protocol requires new sign-ups to link a WorldID to their irises.
Initially, the user has to obtain a WorldID using the World app and then go to a special site that scans their eye and links the cryptographic hash of that image with a QR code on the World app. After that, the app creates a so-called zero-knowledge proof that the person exists on the system without exposing their personal data.
Worldcoin has been criticized by different quarters concerned about data privacy and commercial interests. Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, said that the iris-scanning hardware could contain backdoors. He also said bad actors could force people to link their codes with someone’s iris.
Read more: What are Zero-Knowledge Proofs? Securing Growth for Web3 Apps
Regulators in Kenya banned the project, while India recently halted it due to overcrowding at iris-scanning sites. However, it recently had a successful launch in Singapore.
BeInCrypto has contacted Worldcoin for comment but has not heard back at press time.
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