X to introduce ID verification to tackle AI bots and prevent impersonation

X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is working on a new feature that will require users to upload a photo of their government-issued ID and take a live selfie to verify their identity. The feature, which is still in development, is aimed at preventing impersonation and enhancing user trust on the platform.

App researcher Nima Owji shared a screenshot of the feature on X. The verification process will take about five minutes and users will need to provide a photo of their ID and a selfie.

#X keeps working on the ID verification. You should upload a photo of your ID and take a live selfie. https://t.co/3bdGgzlnZh pic.twitter.com/F4ssglakHR

— Nima Owji (@nima_owji) August 16, 2023

The new ID verification feature is different from the verified status, which is indicated by a blue checkmark next to the user’s name. The verified status does not require any identity checks by X, but it does have some safeguards, such as the verified organizations feature that allows users to see which organizations are behind certain accounts.

The ID verification feature, on the other hand, is designed to combat the problem of impersonation on X, which can lead to misinformation, manipulation, spam, scams, and political influence. By requiring users to provide proof of their identity, X hopes to reduce the presence of bots and fake accounts on the platform and foster more genuine interactions and trustworthy relationships among users.

The fine notes on the feature also mention that X will store the images of the user’s ID and biometric data for up to 30 days and will share them with identity verification company Au10tix for the purpose of confirming the user’s identity. X will also use the user’s data for “safety and security” reasons.

Meanwhile, X has started switching over to X.com on iOS. The change is visual when a user copy and post URLs from the share sheet in the X app for iOS, the link now begins with x.com rather than twitter.com. However, the complete transition to x.com is still pending as clicking on x.com links on the web continues to redirect users to twitter.com.

X has also rebranded its social media dashboard application for management. TweetDeck, to XPro. Now, if users visit the TweetDeck website while logged out, they will see “XPro” written at the top of the page.