The first global online identity verification system went online this week. This time you won’t need your passport or your credit report; just a note from Mom.
Vancouver, Canada, August 31, 2009 – Trulioo Inc., today announced the release of the web’s first Community Identity Verification System. Perfect for online dating, auction sites, job search sites and age restricted forums and groups; the product is free and can be used anywhere an increased level of trust between people is required. Facebook users can sign up now for Trulioo at www.trulioo.com, and the Company plans to release versions for other social networking websites in the coming months.
Trulioo’s patent pending technology utilizes access to its user’s friends, family, co-workers and community made available through various social networking websites to verify identity details.
“Governments around the world have always relied on community based identity verification to issue passports and other important documents to their citizens,” says Tanis Jorge, Director of Business Development for Trulioo. “When your neighbourhood doctor, lawyer or teacher signs your passport application – that is community identity verification at work.” explains Jorge. “With the advent of real world social networks being brought online in recent years, the opportunity for alternative online identity verification now exists.”
According to Facebook, their average user has one hundred and twenty (120) friends. The concept behind Trulioo is that the majority of those friends have at least some real world knowledge of the user, and that this knowledge can be pooled and presented in social transactions involving the user on the web to build trust. “If one hundred and twelve (112) people say my first name is Tanis, my name is more likely to actually be Tanis,” says Jorge.
Similarly, Trulioo can be used to verify a user’s location, marital status and even age – which presents an opportunity for a new level of child protection with respect to age restricted websites. “The industry has always struggled with ways to verify a child’s age largely due to lack of data on children. Children may not have driver’s licenses, pay utilities or have cellular phones, but they do belong to communities of people who can verify their age,” explains Jorge.
The online identity and age verification industry has traditionally relied upon government, private and public data sources to establish a user’s identity online; but have struggled with user uptake largely due to costs and data access internationally. Trulioo is designed for peer to peer social transactions where basic identity information is needed, and is not restricted geographically because the data itself is contributed by its users.
Over the next year, Trulioo will launch its application on all major social networks, making its free online I.D. available to hundreds of millions of people around the world. Says Jorge, “We believe community based identity verification will usher in a new era of online safety and trust; making the Internet a more enjoyable place for everyone.”