Anthropic has officially announced that it will introduce an authentication mechanism for certain use cases of Claude. The announcement quickly sparked widespread discussion among users.

According to the official statement, when users attempt to access certain specific features, the system may prompt for verification. Triggering conditions include accessing specific advanced features, routine platform integrity checks, and scenarios related to security and compliance requirements. Some users have already reported being prompted for verification when subscribing to the highest-tier plan, Max.

The verification process itself is not complicated and usually takes less than five minutes. Users need to prepare a government-issued photo ID - such as a passport, driver's license, or national ID card - as well as a phone or computer with a camera to take a real-time selfie for facial comparison. It is important to note that copies, screenshots, student IDs, or bank cards are not accepted; only original physical documents are valid.

Anthropic's verification partner is Persona Identities. The company emphasized that the choice of this institution was based on its technical strength and privacy protection capabilities. Regarding data usage, Anthropic provided several clear commitments: verification data will not be used for model training, will not be shared with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes, and will only be shared between the user, Persona, and Anthropic, unless required by law.

In addition, the official also explained situations where an account may still be disabled after verification, including repeated violations of the usage policy, account creation from unsupported regions, violation of the terms of service, and users under the age of 18.

This move has been interpreted by some users as a restriction on access from specific regions, and the controversy continues to escalate. Anthropic emphasized that the core logic behind this action is "powerful technology needs to be used responsibly, and the platform needs to know who is using it." However, for users who have become accustomed to using AI tools with anonymity or low barriers, this new identity threshold clearly presents a challenge.