X (Twitter) may implement ID verification to fight impersonators, but will it work?
The implementation of ID verification on Twitter (now known as X) has been rumored for a long time since Elon Musk bought the platform. This new security feature may be coming soon as details of how the verification process will work have recently emerged.
At least potentially.
This information comes from independent app researcher Nima Owji who shared a screenshot of an in-app window revealing some of the materials Premium users need to verify their identities. They included a government-issued ID plus a device with a working, uncovered camera — presumably a smartphone. Verification would take about five minutes. The post also tells people to “be prepared to take a selfie and photos of your ID.” We assume “sefie” is a typo and the platform should say “selfie” instead. As you can probably guess, this is still a work in progress; although the fact that this message appeared hints at an imminent launch.
#X continues to work on the ID verification. You need to upload a photo of your ID and take a live selfie. https://t.co/3bdGgzlnZh pic.twitter.com/F4ssglakHRAugust 16, 2023
Important context
Looking at the fine print, X stores images of your ID and your biometric data on its servers for up to 30 days. During that time, the platform will share your information with identity verification company Au10tix “in order to confirm (your) identity.” In addition, X will use your data for “safety and security reasons”.
Do a quick Google search Au10tix, it seems that the company has a pretty clean criminal record. It has had no public data breaches. At first glance, it seems that Elon Musk made a good choice by choosing Au10tix as an external partner. although given all the controversies resulting from Musk’s decisions, we will remain sceptical.
A launch date is unknown. It’s worth noting that X’s Community Notes once claimed that ID verification is almost here, but Owji’s may have missed some important context. The feature is actually optional for Premium users. It won’t be a mandatory security check for everyone.
However, at the time of writing this article, they are the same Community notes have changed to say now that X is not currently making any statements about “site-wide photo ID verification”. The image below is the original statement.
Analysis: Just another sticker
The reason this is being implemented, according to the fine print, is to deter identity impersonation on X. If you recall, Musk removed Twitter’s old verification system and then implemented one where all you had to do was pay $8 to get a verified tick. This turned out to be a disaster, as the website was soon filled with fake accounts. Infamous, someone posed as pharmaceutical company Eli Lily and then proceeded to tweet that the company was making free insulin. Eli Lily reportedly pulled all of its ads from Twitterwhich costs the social media platform millions.
The million dollar question now is whether this will effectively stop X impersonators? We doubt it. It’s not like anything really changes. It’s still $8 for verification, optional or not. Even if it were mandatory, would people be okay with giving their biometrics to Musk or a security company they’ve never heard of? The flatterers, probably, but most people aren’t.
It could still be just another crappy sticker to add to the collection.