Account verification
Account verification is the process of verifying that a new or existing account is owned and operated by a specified real individual or organization. A number of websites, for example social media websites, offer account verification services. Verified accounts are often visually distinguished by check mark icons or badges next to the names of individuals or organizations.
Account verification can enhance the quality of online services, mitigating sockpuppetry, bots, trolling, spam, vandalism, fake news, disinformation and election interference.
Techniques
Identity verification services
Identity verification services are third-party solutions which can be used to ensure that a person provides information which is associated with the identity of a real person. Such services may verify the authenticity of identity documents such as drivers licenses or passports, called documentary verification, or may verify identity information against authoritative sources such as credit bureaus or government data, called nondocumentary verification.[citation needed]
Identity documents verification
The uploading of scanned or photographed identity documents is a practice in use, for example, at Facebook.[1] According to Facebook, there are two reasons that a person would be asked to send a scan of or photograph of an ID to Facebook: to show account ownership and to confirm their name.[1]
In January 2018, Facebook purchased Confirm.io,[2] a startup that was advancing technologies to verify the authenticity of identification documentation.
Biometric verification
Behavioral verification
Behavioral verification is the computer-aided and automated detection and analysis of behaviors and patterns of behavior to verify accounts. Behaviors to detect include those of sockpuppets, bots, cyborgs, trolls, spammers, vandals, and sources and spreaders of fake news, disinformation and election interference. Behavioral verification processes can flag accounts as suspicious, exclude accounts from suspicion, or offer corroborating evidence for processes of account verification.
Bank account verification
Identity verification is required to establish bank accounts and other financial accounts in many jurisdictions. Verifying identity in the financial sector is often required by regulation such as Know Your Customer or Customer Identification Program. Accordingly, bank accounts can be of use as corroborating evidence when performing account verification.
Bank account information can be provided when creating or verifying an account or when making a purchase.
Postal address verification
Postal address information can be provided when creating or verifying an account or when making and subsequently shipping a purchase. A hyperlink or code can be sent to a user by mail, recipients entering it on a website verifying their postal address.
Telephone number verification
A telephone number can be provided when creating or verifying an account or added to an account to obtain a set of features. During the process of verifying a telephone number, a confirmation code is sent to a phone number specified by a user, for example in an SMS message sent to a mobile phone. As the user receives the code sent, they can enter it on the website to confirm their receipt.
Email verification
An email account is often required to create an account. During this process, a confirmation hyperlink is sent in an email message to an email address specified by a person. The email recipient is instructed in the email message to navigate to the provided confirmation hyperlink if and only if they are the person creating an account. The act of navigating to the hyperlink confirms receipt of the email by the person.
The added value of an email account for purposes of account verification depends upon the process of account verification performed by the specific email service provider.
Multi-factor verification
Multi-factor account verification is account verification which simultaneously utilizes a number of techniques.
Multi-party verification
The processes of account verification utilized by multiple service providers can corroborate one another. OpenID Connect includes a user information protocol which can be used to link multiple accounts, corroborating user information.[3]
Account verification and good standing
On some services, account verification is synonymous with good standing.
Twitter reserves the right to remove account verification from users' accounts at any time without notice.[4] Reasons for removal may reflect behaviors on and off Twitter and include: promoting hate and/or violence against, or directly attacking or threatening other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease; supporting organizations or individuals that promote the above; inciting or engaging in the harassment of others; violence and dangerous behavior; directly or indirectly threatening or encouraging any form of physical violence against an individual or any group of people, including threatening or promoting terrorism; violent, gruesome, shocking, or disturbing imagery; self-harm, suicide; and engaging in other activity on Twitter that violates the Twitter Rules.[5]
In April 2023, Blue ticks were removed from all Twitter accounts that had not subscribed to Twitter Blue.[6]
See also
- User profile
- Digital identity
- E-authentication
- Federated identity
- Identity assurance
- Identity management
- Online identity
- Persona (user experience)
- Personal information
- Real-name system
- Social media optimization
- Social profiling
References
- ^ a b "Confirm Your Identity With Facebook | Facebook". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "Facebook acquires biometric ID verification startup Confirm.io". January 23, 2018.
- ^ "Final: OpenID Connect Core 1.0 incorporating errata set 1". openid.net.
- ^ "Twitter verification FAQ | Twitter Help". help.twitter.com.
- ^ "The Twitter rules: safety, privacy, authenticity, and more". help.twitter.com.
- ^ Kilraine, Lottie (April 21, 2023). "Twitter users mourn their blue ticks after Elon Musk removes legacy checkmarks". itv.com. Retrieved May 8, 2023.