What is World, and how does it work?

World is the real human network, bringing identity, finance and community to every human. It’s made up of multiple contributors and a growing community of more than 22 million people, including [10 million] unique Orb-verified humans, across five continents.

World was founded to develop the tools and infrastructure necessary to help humanity accelerate in the Age of AI.

World is made up four component parts that allow every human to prove their humanness online and participate in the global economy:

• World ID - World’s digital proof of human. Think of it as a blue checkmark that anonymously verifies you’re a unique human online thanks to a state of the art camera and breakthrough cryptographic anonymization technology.
• World App - The first World wallet. Built by Tools for Humanity (TFH), World App holds your World ID, allows you to explore and use crypto and stablecoins, hosts native Mini Apps and more.
• Worldcoin (WLD) - World’s native digital token. WLD is freely available to be claimed by all verified and eligible* humans for both utility and future governance.
• World Chain - World’s human-first blockchain. Built as part of the Optimism Superchain, World Chain is designed to help World Network scale to support all of humanity.

World works in two simple steps. 

• Step 1: Download World App - This lets you access World Network. With World App, you can hold and verify your World ID, access your self-custodial digital wallet and explore a growing ecosystem of Mini Apps.
• Step 2: Verify your World ID - Verifying your World ID at an Orb lets you prove to websites and applications that you’re a real human. You can also use an Orb-verified World ID to claim a free allocation of WLD*. World ID verification locations can be found on the World website or in World App.

World does not collect, store or sell any personal data, including iris data, and verified World ID holders are anonymous. 

Once a person’s World ID is verified, the images taken by the Orb during the verification process are sent to their phone, permanently deleted from the Orb and not stored by World. This is known as Personal Custody, and it’s how World ensures that individuals are in full control of their own information and identity. 

Additionally, World is designed to be decentralized, which means that its ultimate supervision and decision making will rest with its global community of users. You can use the following resource to learn more about ongoing efforts to advance decentralization and access the open source Github repo.

World is currently supported by multiple contributors. Among them are World Foundation and TFH.

World Foundation is a non-profit organization established to support and grow World Network until it becomes self-sufficient. It does this through actions like overseeing community grants programs, open-sourcing important project technologies, participating in Optimism governance and more.

TFH is a global technology company established to accelerate the transition towards a more just economic system. It led the initial development of World and is continuing to build tools that support the network, in addition to operating World App. 

World Network continues to develop and expand daily, welcoming more contributors and integration partners to support its growth and utility.

Learn more about World by visiting the network’s official website. 

You can also join the daily conversations on Twitter/X, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, YouTube and LinkedIn, or sign up for the blog newsletter at the bottom of this page. Additional important information concerning the project is available in the World whitepaper.