Author: AI Era
Anthropic has another big development!
In recent days, many Claude users opened their inboxes to find an email from Anthropic. The subject line was unremarkable—“Privacy Policy Update Notice.” But the content left them stunned:
We may require you to verify your age or identity.
Someone posted a screenshot of an email on X, and the comments section exploded. According to the email, starting July 8, Claude may require you to submit your ID. Is Anthropic’s identity verification finally coming?
Anthropic suddenly announced that real-name verification is really coming?
On June 10, many Claude users received emails from Anthropic.
The email states that, starting July 8, Anthropic may require users to verify their age or identity for "enhanced security." More interestingly, some users reported receiving this email today, while other accounts never received it before, suggesting a phased rollout or gray-scale testing.
According to the official privacy policy update in the email, the key changes are threefold:
1. Data flow for multi-step tasks and third-party applications
As Claude's capabilities improve, it can perform multi-step tasks on your behalf—such as planning a complete trip: checking flights, booking hotels, and organizing itineraries—and can also connect to third-party apps like Google Drive, Slack, and Notion.
Moreover, your data is no longer confined to Anthropic’s servers. Anthropic’s updated privacy policy explicitly states that when you connect to a service or have Claude perform tasks on your behalf, your data may flow between you and third parties.
This means your conversation content, uploaded files, and even your operational commands may leave Anthropic’s servers and enter the processing workflows of third-party applications. For average users, the stronger the AI’s agent capabilities, the broader your data footprint becomes.
2. Verify data (core changes)
This is the most impactful content in this update. The policy states:
As part of our measures to ensure the security and reliability of our services, we may require you to verify your age or identity. We hereby explain what information we collect and how we collect it.
How to verify?
According to Anthropic's official support page, verification will be conducted through the third-party service Persona. The process includes:
Upload a government-issued, photo-bearing ID (such as a passport, driver’s license, or national ID card).
Take a real-time selfie (for comparison with your ID photo)
Anthropic aims to reassure users by emphasizing that this data is used solely for identity verification and will not be used for model training; the data is not stored on Anthropic’s own servers (handled by Persona); and the entire process is strictly limited to specific security and compliance scenarios.
But this notice still left many users stunned. On X, one user shared a screenshot of the email with the comment: “Received on June 10—I thought it was just a routine update… Looking back now, it’s chilling.” Another user joked: “They said they needed to verify identity, so is Fable 5 coming back?”
3. Research Participation Information
If you participate in Anthropic's survey or interview, they will collect additional information.
⚠️ Important notice:
These three changes apply only to retail accounts (Free, Pro, Max); business customers (Team, Enterprise) are unaffected. This means individual users will be the first to be verified.
Anthropic explains on its official support page: Identity verification was previously used only in specific scenarios involving minors,违规 users, or accounts from unsupported regions. In the future, as proxy tasks become more complex, the scope of verification will gradually expand.
Actually, Anthropic has done identity verification before. Previously, similar verification methods were used for child protection,违规 accounts, and accounts from unsupported regions. The difference this time is that the wording and scope are more explicit, and a specific statement was highlighted—future verification requirements may expand as Agent tasks become more complex.
Many heavy users of agents are concerned: will using Claude for automated tasks frequently trigger pop-ups requiring facial recognition? The official team has not yet provided more specific triggering conditions, but more detailed information is likely to be released after July 8.
The wild era of AI is coming to an end
Looking back at the recent uproar over the "Fable 5 ban," everything seemed to have been foreseen.
The ban of the Fable 5 account for violating security guidelines shocked everyone. Many initially thought this might have been a one-time punishment targeting an extreme outlier, but now it’s clear that Fable 5’s downfall is not an isolated incident—it’s a harbinger of sweeping crackdowns by Anthropic and the entire AI industry.
When AI's capabilities evolve from a "chat companion" to an "omnipotent agent" capable of operating third-party applications and executing complex tasks, authorities will never allow the next Fable 5 to continue running wild in a lawless zone.
The so-called "real-name system" and "facial recognition verification" signal that, ahead of the full-scale explosion of AI agents, major players must establish unbreakable accountability mechanisms in advance. If AI makes mistakes while acting on your behalf—booking tickets, modifying documents, or executing more complex business commands—the platform must be able to definitively identify which real human is issuing commands behind the screen.
Starting July 8, each time you try to have Claude assist you with a multi-step complex task, you may encounter a pop-up: Please upload your identification document.
Anthropic's message suggests that winter is coming. From now on, facial recognition verification and account purges will likely become routine in the AI industry by 2026.
In one month, when using Claude, you’ll need to be ready to present your ID at any time.
References:
https://x.com/ryanmcadams/status/2066201356034011370?s=20
https://privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10301952-updates-to-our-privacy-polic