In a blog post, the Worldcoin Foundation declared that it has made publicly accessible open-sourced components of the software that powers its iris-scanning Orbs.
As per the announcement, the fundamental elements of the Orb software are accessible via GitHub following a dual license from MIT and Apache 2.0. New open-source components “complement” previously released hardware.
Critical for capturing images and transmitting them securely to the product’s app, the release contains code for the Orb.
In addition to providing verifiable privacy claims, Worldcoin asserts that its publicly accessible software and iris recognition repositories represent “significant progress” toward achieving transparency for Orb’s image processing.
Further elucidating on the software components comprising the infamous metallic, eye-scanning Orb, Worldcoin unveiled an additional privacy function known as “Personal Custody.”
Individual users can now transfer self-custody data to Worldcoin via a data package encrypted with a user-supplied public key and signed with the Orb’s private key before its transmission to the user’s mobile device.
According to the developer, users will “always retain control of their data,” and only the individual can decrypt the biometric information. Worldcoin declared:
“Once the encrypted data is sent from the Orb to the individual’s World App, no unencrypted copies of this data exist anywhere.”
The developer posits that implementing this feature may conceivably diminish the frequency users must revisit an Orb to authenticate their World ID.
As a result of this update, Worldcoin is currently under scrutiny by international regulators regarding privacy concerns. The Kenyan government rejected a request from the United States to reinstate its suspensions of the Worldcoin project on March 21.
Officials from the Kenyan government have declared their intention to prohibit Worldcoin activities within the nation until they can guarantee the security of the Kenyan people and verify the integrity of financial information.
Worldcoin declared on its blog on March 18 that it complies with all laws and regulations governing data acquisition and transfer and operates “lawfully in all geographies where it is accessible.”
In contrast, it encountered additional opposition in early March. This time, the Spanish Agency for Data Protection temporarily banned Worldcoin’s operations and demanded that it cease accumulating and processing data locally.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the company that developed the chatbot ChatGPT using artificial intelligence (AI), was a co-founder of Worldcoin. OpenAI is presently encountering scrutiny regarding its choice to withhold the source code for its artificial intelligence models.
