GuidesIdentity verification
How to verify someone's identity online
Ask if someone is a verified human: a person whose passport or ID card chip Prson checked. Add a face match, or ask about their document. You get a yes or no signed by Prson, not a copy of their ID.
- Answered in the Prson app
- Signed by Prson
- Only the answer is shared
Identity check
How it works
Three steps, on their phone.
Ask
Pick what you need to know in the Prson app and send it as a link, by WhatsApp, email or wherever you talk. Organisations can ask from their own website or app, or through an AI agent.
They prove it on their phone
If they haven't yet, they read their passport or ID card chip with their phone in the Prson app, and Prson checks it. For a face match, they also take a live selfie that their phone compares with the chip photo.
Get a yes or no
The answer comes back signed by Prson, so it can't be edited, and it's valid for a limited time. You learn "Verified human: yes" and nothing more.
What you can ask
Pick the question. Get a yes or no.
Where the answer comes from: their passport or ID card chip, checked by Prson.
Need their name? You can ask them to share the name on their chip. They see that before they agree.
Search every fact Prson can verifyIdentity facts in the developer docs
Honest limits
What a yes proves, and what it doesn't.
A yes proves
- Level 5: someone held a genuine, unexpired passport or ID card, and Prson checked its chip, including that the chip isn't a copy.
- Level 6: as well, a face match between a live selfie and the chip photo, run on their phone and attested.
A yes doesn't prove
- Who they are: a verified human answer shares no name and no document details.
- At level 5, that the person answering is the document's owner: there's no face match. Ask for level 6 if that matters.
- That the document wasn’t later reported lost, stolen or cancelled: the chip only knows its expiry date.
- Levels 1 to 4 are checks done on the phone, like a selfie or a photo of an ID. They are never called a verified human.
- Live checks make AI fakes much harder, not impossible.
- Why it matters: real humans, not bots
When people ask
A few examples.
- Meeting someone from a dating app
- Hiring a freelancer you’ve never met
- Letting only real people into a community
For organisations
Ask from your website, app or AI agent.
The same questions work through the Prson API: send the request, the person answers in the Prson app, and you get the answer signed by Prson.
Questions
Questions, answered.
What is a verified human?
Someone at identity level 5 or 6 in Prson: the chip of their passport or ID card was read and checked by Prson, including that the chip isn't a copy. Level 6 adds a face match with the chip photo.
What is the difference between level 5 and level 6?
Level 5 means a genuine document chip, checked by Prson. Level 6 adds a face match between a live selfie and the chip photo, run on the person's phone and attested, so you know more surely that the person answering is the document's owner.
Will I see their name or ID?
No. A verified human answer shares no name or document details. If you need their name, you can ask them to share it, and they see that before they agree.
Can a fake ID or an AI pass?
A made-up document can't: the chip carries the issuing country's signature, and Prson checks that the chip isn't a copy. The face match uses a live selfie, which makes AI fakes much harder, though not impossible.
Which documents work?
Passports and ID cards with a chip, from many countries. The coverage page on prson.net lists which ones.
Does the other person need the Prson app?
Yes, to answer. The Prson app is free on iPhone and Android, and in private beta now. You don't need anything to ask but the app or a link from an organisation that uses Prson.
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