Anthropic Introduces Identity Checks for Claude Users as It Reinforces AI Safety Measures

Kenya, April 16, 2026 - Anthropic, the mother company of Claude AI assistant, has introduced identity verification measures for select users as part of efforts to improve platform security, prevent misuse, and comply with legal obligations.

 According to the company, some users may occasionally be prompted to confirm their identity while accessing specific features of the AI assistant as part of routine platform integrity checks or other safety and compliance measures.

The verification process will take under five minutes, and individuals will be required to have a physical government document in hand, such as a passport or national ID, and may be asked to take a live selfie.

 The company said that it will not accept photocopies, scanned documents, digital IDs, or non-government-issued identification such as student or employee IDs during the process.

The verification data will be collected and stored by Persona, a third-party provider, but Anthropic may still access it through Persona when necessary, for example, during appeals or investigations.

The data collected from users will be used strictly to confirm their identity and prevent fraud, and not for any other purposes, including training AI models or for advertising and marketing. It will only be shared where legally required in response to valid legal processes.

“We selected Persona Identities as our verification partner based on the strength of their technology, privacy controls, and security safeguards. Verification data stays between you, Persona, and Anthropic,” Anthropic stated.

 The verification process may also fail due to several factors, including unclear images, damaged or expired documents, or technical problems, and users will be allowed multiple attempts if this happens.

 Some accounts may be banned following verification if the users are found to have been involved in repeated policy violations, use from unsupported regions, terms of service breaches, or underage usage.

“If you feel your account has been wrongly banned, please fill out the appeal form with your account information so our Safeguards team can further investigate why your account was disabled,” the company said.

 Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers who set out to build AI systems that are designed with a strong focus on safety, reliability, and responsible deployment.

 The company went on to introduce Claude as its flagship AI assistant in March 2023, an AI assistant used for high-level text generation, document analysis, coding, and reasoning, positioning it as a competitor to other generative AI tools.

Recently, the company drew global attention after declining to release its latest AI model known as 'Mythos', deeming it too powerful and dangerous for public use, and it could pose significant cybersecurity risks.

 According to Anthopic, the model demonstrated the ability to autonomously find and exploit software vulnerabilities in major operating systems and web browsers, surpassing the capabilities of most human experts.

Anthropic provided access to Mythos only to a controlled group of 40 partners, including Google, Microsoft, Apple, and CrowdStrike,  who will help identify and patch flaws defensively before the model's capabilities become widely available.