Excellent question posed by this group member on Facebook. Let's answer it 👇
✅ When you scan with the ORB, your iris and your face are not stored as images on any centralized server, not even on your phone. What is generated is a unique mathematical hash, a kind of "cryptographic fingerprint" that represents your identity anonymously. That hash is stored on your device (if you use Personal Custody), but a copy is also sent to the central validation system of World ID (from Tools for Humanity).
Why? Because that hash has to be compared with all the existing ones to ensure that no one else has been registered with your same biometric identity. This is essential to ensure that each human can only have one World ID.
And no, you cannot re-register with another phone because there will already be a unique record associated with your biometric data. If you tried to scan yourself again, the system would detect that this hash is already registered, and it would not allow you to create a second identity, even if you are using another device.
Regarding your concerns about the server: yes, there is a secure database where these anonymized hashes are stored. They are not linked to your name, number, or any visible personal data. But, as you mention, it is logical to think that this system could be used in the future to validate identity in other applications of the WorldCoin or Web3 ecosystem.
