World launches its “super app” with crypto payment and encrypted chat features

World, the biometric identity verification project co-founded by Sam Altman, today released the latest version of its app, introducing several new features, including encrypted chat integration and expanded, Venmo-like ability to send and request cryptocurrencies.

World was created by startup Tools for Humanity in 2019 and first released the app in 2023. The company says that in a world overrun by AI-generated digital spoofs, it hopes to create “human proof” digital tools that will help separate humans from bots.

On Thursday, during a small meeting at World's headquarters in San Francisco, Altman and World co-founder and CEO Alex Blania briefly introduced the new version of the app (which developers referred to as a “super app”), after which the product team took over and explained new features. In his remarks, Altman said that the concept of the World arose from conversations he had with Blania about the need to create a new type of economic model. This model, based on web3 principles, is what World seeks to achieve with its verification network. “It's really difficult to identify unique individuals and do it in a way that protects privacy,” Altman said.

World Chat, the app's new instant messaging app, seems to have been designed to do just that. It uses end-to-end encryption to keep users' conversations safe (encryption is described as equivalent to Signal, a privacy-focused messaging app), and also uses color-coded speech bubbles to alert users whether the person they're talking to has been verified by World or not, the company said. The idea is to encourage verification and give people the opportunity to check that the person they are talking to is who they say they are. The chat was originally launched in beta version in March.

Another major feature revealed on Thursday was an expanded digital payment system that allows app users to send and receive cryptocurrency. The World app has been serving as a digital wallet for some time, but the latest version of the app offers broader capabilities. Using virtual bank accounts, users can also receive payouts directly to the World App and make deposits from their bank accounts, which can then be converted into cryptocurrencies. You do not need to be verified by World's authentication system to use these features.

Tiago Sada, global chief product officer, told TechCrunch that one of the reasons for adding chat was to create a more interactive experience for users. “We kept hearing from people that they wanted a more social World app,” Sada said. World Chat was designed to meet this need, creating, according to Sada, a secure way to communicate. “A lot of work went into creating this feature-rich messaging app, similar to WhatsApp or Telegram, but with encryption and security much closer to Signal,” Sada said.

World (originally called Worldcoin) uses a unique authentication process: interested individuals' eyes are scanned at one of the company's offices, where the Sphere – a large verification device – transforms the person's iris into a unique and encrypted digital code. This code, a verified World ID, can then be used by the individual to interact with the global ecosystem of services available through their application.

The addition of more community-friendly features is clearly intended to drive wider adoption of the app, which makes sense since the company's main challenge is validating scaling. Altman said he would like to see the project scan the eyes of a billion peoplebut Tools for Humanity claims to have scanned fewer than 20 million people.

Since standing in long lines at a company office to have your eyeballs scanned by a giant metal ball may seem a little less appealing to some users, the company has already made efforts to make the verification process less cumbersome. In April, Tools for Humanity announced Orb Minis – handheld, phone-like devices – that allow users to scan their own eyes from the comfort of their home. Blania previously told TechCrunch that the company would eventually look to turn Orb Minis into a mobile point-of-sale device or sell the ID sensor technology to device makers. If a company takes these steps, it will significantly lower the verification barrier, potentially inspiring much wider adoption.