Claude Enforces Strict Real-Name Verification, Users Face Increased Account Risk

Claude this time directly put a knife to the user's throat!

Claude is implementing strict real-name verification: once you complete identity verification, submit your documents, and take a selfie, the risk of account suspension immediately rises significantly!

Many people still held onto a glimmer of hope, thinking the platform had left some room or was still trying to hide things.

No need to guess anymore—Anthropic has clearly blocked the path for you!

For users, the most terrifying aspect of this isn't the complicated process or a few extra minutes of time.

What’s truly deadly is that account risk has suddenly shifted from ambiguous to completely exposed! The platform has laid out verification, review, and enforcement measures right on the table!

One sentence, no more pretending!

Anthropic's official announcement appears calm on the surface, even carrying a standardized compliance tone.

What prevents abuse, what enforces usage policies, what fulfills legal obligations—literally, there’s nothing major to fault.

What users can see are not these nice words.

It's clear that the platform has made significant progress in advancing its identity verification capabilities!

The announcement clearly states that certain use cases, specific features, platform integrity checks, and other security and compliance measures may trigger authentication.

The required documents for verification are clearly stated: a government-issued photo ID, plus a real-time selfie, and both must be original physical documents.

Screenshots are not accepted, scanned documents are not accepted, photos taken of documents are not accepted, and digital IDs are not accepted!

As soon as these requirements are laid out, many people already feel discouraged.

Something even tougher is yet to come.

Anthropic wrote that accounts may still be suspended even after verification is completed.

Reasons include repeated violations of the usage policy, account creation from unsupported locations, violation of the terms of service, and use by individuals under 18 years of age.

This statement is extremely powerful!

You were asked to submit identification documents, and then immediately had your account suspended with the reason stated.

What does it mean? Everyone can understand.

The platform no longer settles for simply identifying whether you're a person—it demands stronger verification, smoother review capabilities, and more direct enforcement powers!

And what’s most frustrating is that the boundaries are deliberately written vaguely.

What is meant by partial use cases, certain features, and other security and compliance measures?

Today this is triggered, tomorrow that is triggered—how do we expand the scope and increase the intensity? Users have no certainty at all!

This is exactly what frustrates users the most!

The platform now has a more powerful identification tool, increasing the risk of account suspension for users.

That knife was once at a distance, but now it’s right up against our face!

Many people, upon seeing Persona, might initially think it's just another identity verification service that's easy to bypass.

Thought it was simpler.

What a persona does goes far beyond creating a page, collecting a photo, or going through a process.

It builds the complete identity verification infrastructure, establishing the entire workflow to determine: “Who are you?”, “Are you really you?”, “Should you be granted access?”, and “Can you be traced if something goes wrong?”

Once such companies integrate, the significance becomes entirely different.

Public information shows that Persona has previously collaborated with other leading institutions, including large model companies like OpenAI.

It is not the first time it has handled intensive identity verification, nor the first time serving high-risk, high-compliance business scenarios.

Anthropic's choice of it sends a clear signal: Claude is not undergoing a temporary validation or limited trial—it's deploying a mature, scalable, and fully executable gateway system!

This is why many people suddenly became anxious.

In the past, many things could still survive in the gaps, as many recognition actions were costly, poorly executed, and the systems weren't as robust.

Now it’s different—once mature infrastructure is integrated, all those previously ambiguous, delayable, or exploitable loopholes will gradually be eliminated.

Let’s talk about KYC again.

This term was previously more commonly seen in finance, payments, and trading platforms. Many people thought it was something only banks and exchanges engaged in, far removed from AI products.

Claude is now walking straight over here.

In simple terms, KYC means first firmly identifying who you are, then determining what you can do, and finally deciding how to handle any issues that arise.

That's why everyone is so fired up.

Claude used to feel at least like a model platform, a tool platform, or a productivity platform.

Now that this identity verification system is in place, the platform's logic has clearly changed.

It’s becoming increasingly concerned with who you are, how you use it, and whether you meet its definitions of security and compliance!

This change is too risky for users!

Because once you reach this point, further tightening will only become easier!

Several comments in the material fully capture the emotions.

Someone started insulting:

Anthropic is now requiring identity verification—users need to submit a passport and a selfie to access certain features.

https://x.com/yangyi/status/2044299899777495249

What people fear is that after submitting the materials, the risk doesn't decrease—it actually increases!

The platform has more complete information, so its risk control, detection, and response measures will be even stronger!

This is essentially bad news for domestic users.

It was already being used without issue, and now I have to submit identification documents.

Verification for unsupported regions is unlikely to succeed; even if it does, it may not be secure and could still be blocked later for various reasons.

This is reality.

Many people never said it out loud, but they always knew: Claude never truly provided users with consistent expectations.

Even this small margin of ambiguity is being squeezed—how can anyone not be furious!

Now let’s look at another prophecy from six months ago:

Just add KYC.

And now it's actually been added.

https://x.com/realNyarime/status/2044307566432530694

What frustrates users most isn't just the platform's tightening measures.

What users have long resented is Anthropic’s prolonged, inconsistent behavior—repeatedly raising barriers and keeping users in constant uncertainty!

This identity verification launch has completely ignited this momentum!

Some people are making realistic judgments, accepting only government-issued identification from supported countries and regions; as a result, a large number of intermediary stations are likely to face problems soon.

https://x.com/m1ssuo/status/2044300993547120784

This is not scare tactics.

Many activities on the ecosystem are built on fragile foundations.

Claude has now closed the real-name verification gate, severely impacting many services that have been relying on loopholes.

https://x.com/VinceZcrikl/status/2044335219432677556

One more comment is very short:

Opening max is risky.

https://x.com/VinceZcrikl/status/2044336700957298818

These four words carry immense weight.

Because those who fear this cut the most are precisely high-intensity users, high-limit users, and those who rely on Claude as a core productivity tool.

The deeper you use it and the more you invest, the more you fear the platform suddenly popping up with a KYC requirement and shutting down your entire workflow in one go!

Others also say:

Continuously sending customers to the counterparty; lately, Opus 4.6 has been acting up, so Codex now seems more appealing.

https://x.com/SeptenAI/status/2044308994370744432

The platform is increasing pressure, degrading user experience, and causing users to worry about account security.

So why would users still hold on?

Voting with your feet has always been the fastest!

At this point, pretending not to notice and tying the entire workflow, client projects, and core materials to a single Claude account is an absurdly high risk!

First, let's talk about reducing the risk of being banned.

Anthropic's help center clearly states that the Free, Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise subscription plans are designed for Claude's native applications and standard use cases.

You are purchasing authorization to use the official product, not an unlimited traffic pool, nor an interface for redistribution or integration with third-party projects!

If you need to integrate with third-party software, open-source projects, or services, the official documentation clearly outlines the paths: use an API key, access via Claude Console, or connect through supported cloud platforms.

This is especially important—everyone must pay close attention!

The most common issue occurs when people treat a personal subscription as a universal API.

Do not use your personal Claude subscription to run reverse proxies, do not access shared pools, do not use sub2api, do not run tasks on behalf of multiple users, and do not run tasks on behalf of clients.

Do not proxy Claude subscription plans to projects like OpenClaw or Hermes Agent to consume their quotas!

This type of gameplay is now a high-risk area!

Anthropic's position is clear: impersonating identities, redirecting third-party traffic to subscription quotas, and similar actions are prohibited and may result in legal action.

The most important thing for many people to be aware of is this!

It’s time to put aside any sense of false security.

Just because nothing happened before doesn't mean nothing will happen in the future.

Since the platform has now moved identity verification and risk control earlier in the process, many actions that previously slipped through will now be targeted with precision!

Also reduce the risk of account suspension losses.

Don’t hesitate—do this now, immediately! Export all available Claude data!

Backup everything important: conversation logs, prompt words, project context, client communication content, and long-term work traces.

Many people often overlook this issue, assuming that as long as their account exists, their data is still there.

Only when the account was actually blocked did I realize that what hurt the most wasn’t losing the subscription fee—it was losing all historical context at once, completely cutting off my workflow!

That’s the kind of loss that can really break you!

Ultimately, users need tools that work, not platforms they have to tiptoe around every day.

Who is more stable, who can better provide long-term support, and who has a clearer business model is more worthy of hosting core workflows.

OpenAI is at least realistic about one thing.

Ultraman is a realist and a businessman.

He trades in any market that can make money.

He accepts users who can be served.

Keep the business logic clear—profit is profit, and the product is the product; no unnecessary theatrics!

This is already important for users.

Users want reliable delivery, long-term availability, clear rules, and peace of mind after spending money—no need to worry every second that something unexpected might happen.

Now let’s look at the model itself.

Everyone can see the recent fluctuations in Claude's reputation.

Controversies over intelligence degradation are increasing, and Opus 4.6 has also faced significant criticism, leading to growing loss of confidence in many scenarios.

Conversely, GPT-5.4 Pro is now increasingly resembling the more stable, powerful, and lower-hallucination answer.

When actually put to work, when truly handling complex tasks, when genuinely serving as a long-term主力, it becomes increasingly appealing!

This is also the most foolish thing Anthropic did this time.

While conducting identity verification, you’re frustrating and anxious users. Meanwhile, the model experience continues to damage your reputation.

It’s only natural that users turn to ChatGPT!

It's completely normal for many people to put ChatGPT back in their primary position.

This is also the most practical hedging move!

Every swing Claude makes could ultimately cut into his own market share—hitting himself in the foot!

Authentication on Claude

Responsible use of powerful technologies begins with understanding who is using them. Authentication helps us prevent abuse, enforce usage policies, and comply with legal obligations.

We are rolling out authentication for certain use cases—you may see verification prompts when accessing specific features as part of our routine platform integrity checks or other security and compliance measures.

We use your verification data solely to confirm your identity and not for any other purpose.

How do we verify?

We have selected Persona Identities as our verification partner due to their technological strength, privacy controls, and security safeguards. Please follow the steps below to complete your identity verification process.

What do you need to prepare?

Before you begin, please prepare the following items:

A valid government-issued photo ID: a physical document, readily available

A smartphone or computer with a camera: You may need to take a live selfie using your phone or use a webcam.

A few minutes: Verification usually takes less than five minutes.

Accepted Types of Identification Documents

We accept original, physical government-issued photo identification documents from most countries. Common examples include:

Passport

Driver’s license or state/province ID

National ID card

Your identification document must be issued by a government authority, clearly legible, in good condition, and include your photograph.

We do not accept:

Copies, screenshots, scanned documents, or photos

Digital or mobile identification documents (such as a mobile driver’s license)

Non-government identification documents: student ID, employee ID, library card, bank card

Temporary paper ID document

How is your data protected?

We understand that submitting identification documents is an important request, and we’ve designed this process to protect your information at every step.

Anthropic is the data controller for your verification data. This means we determine how your data is used and retained. Persona processes data on our behalf, following our instructions.

Your identification documents and selfie are collected and stored by Persona, not on Anthropic’s systems. Anthropic can access verification records through Persona’s platform when needed—for example, to review appeals—but we do not copy or store these images ourselves.

Persona is contractually restricted in how they use your data: solely for providing and supporting verification, and to enhance their ability to prevent fraud. They must protect your data using industry-standard security controls and delete it according to the retention periods we set and applicable laws.

All data transmitted to Persona is encrypted in transit and at rest.

For full details on how we handle your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.

We are not doing anything.

We do not use your identity data to train our models. Verification data is used solely to confirm your identity and fulfill our legal and security obligations.

We do not collect more information than we need. We only require the minimum information necessary to verify your identity.

We do not share your identity data with anyone. Your verification data is retained only between you, Persona, and Anthropic, unless we are legally required to respond to a valid legal process. Your verification data will never be shared with third parties for marketing, advertising, or any purpose unrelated to verification and compliance.

What should I do if my verification fails?

Verification may fail for various reasons: blurry photos, unclear documents, expired identification, or technical issues.

If your verification is unsuccessful:

Retry. You will have multiple attempts during the verification process—most failures can be resolved by retaking your photo in better lighting or using a different government-issued photo ID.

Review your document. Ensure your identification is undamaged and clearly legible.

Contact us. If you’ve exhausted your attempts and still can’t verify, please reach out to us via this form, and we’ll review your case.

Why was my account disabled after verification?

As part of our security procedures, we may disable accounts for various reasons:

Repeated violations of our terms of use

Create an account from a restricted location

Violation of Terms of Service

Use under 18

If you believe your account was disabled in error, please complete the appeal form and provide your account information so our security team can investigate the reason for your account's suspension.

Have a question?

If you have any questions about verification, your data, or the verification process, please contact us through this form.

Reference materials:

https://support.claude.com/en-us/articles/14328960-identity-verification-on-claude

This article is from the WeChat public account "New Intelligence Yuan," authored by New Intelligence Yuan, edited by Alan.