World launches its 'super app,' including crypto pay and encrypted chat features | TechCrunch

"World, the biometric ID verification project co-founded by Sam Altman, released the newest version of its app today, debuting several new features, including an encrypted chat integration and an expanded, Venmo-like capability for sending and requesting crypto. World was created by the startup Tools for Humanity in 2019, and originally launched its app in 2023. The company says that, in a world roiled by AI-generated digital fakery, it hopes to create digital "proof of human" tools that can help separate the humans from the bots."

"During his remarks, Altman said that the concept for World grew out of conversations he and Blania had had about the need to create a new kind of economic model. That model, based around web3 principles, is what World has been trying to accomplish through its verification network. "It's really hard to both identify unique people and do that in a privacy-preserving way," said Altman."

"World Chat, the app's new messenger, seems designed to do just that. It uses end-to-end encryption to keep users' conversations safe (this encryption is described as being equivalent to Signal, the privacy-focused messenger), and also leverages color-coded speech bubbles to alert users to whether the person they're talking to has been verified by World's system or not, the company said. The idea is to incentivize verification, giving people the power to know whether the person they're talking to is who they say they are."

World released a new app version adding an end-to-end encrypted messenger and expanded cryptocurrency payment features. The messenger uses Signal-equivalent encryption and color-coded speech bubbles to indicate whether interlocutors have been verified by World’s system, incentivizing users to confirm identities. The payment expansion introduces Venmo-like send-and-request crypto capabilities and builds on World’s existing digital wallet functionality. World originated at Tools for Humanity in 2019 and launched its app in 2023 to create digital proof-of-human tools addressing AI-generated fakery. The project centers on a web3-based verification network designed to identify unique people while preserving privacy.

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