Anthropic published updated identity verification requirements for Claude on 16 April, confirming that certain users will now be asked to present a physical government-issued photo ID — passport, driving licence, or national identity card — alongside a live selfie captured by phone or webcam. The verification is handled by Persona Identities, a third-party provider contracted to process documents and biometric data on Anthropic's behalf. Photocopies, screenshots, digital IDs, and student credentials are not accepted. The process typically completes in under five minutes and targets users accessing advanced capabilities or those flagged during routine integrity checks.
Anthropic framed the requirement as necessary to 'restrict abuse, enforce platform guidelines, and meet legal obligations,' though the company has not disclosed which specific Claude features or subscription tiers trigger the verification prompt. Persona is contractually limited to using verification data solely for fraud prevention and identity confirmation — Anthropic states the data will not train models and will not be shared with third parties for marketing. However, Anthropic retains access to verification results for account review and appeals, meaning the company holds a record of which users verified and whether they passed, even if it does not store the ID images directly.
The competitive optics are unfavourable. Neither OpenAI's ChatGPT nor Google's Gemini require government identification from users, making Anthropic the only major AI lab imposing biometric verification on its consumer product. Critics have drawn parallels to Discord's controversial expansion of facial recognition earlier in 2026, noting that Anthropic — a company that has built significant brand equity around safety and responsible AI — risks undermining the privacy-conscious reputation that attracted many of its users in the first place. For context engineers who use Claude as a daily development tool, the practical question is whether verification will eventually extend to API access and Claude Code sessions, or remain limited to consumer-facing features. Anthropic has not addressed this directly, leaving developers to watch for changes to the API terms of service.
