xtaldave

The Thiel/Palantir backed Persona age verification platform that Roblox, Reddit and Discord use left loads of info on insecure systems.

(Edit: apparently not Discord now)

"researchers found details about the extensive surveillance Persona software performs on its users. Beyond checking their age, the software performs 269 distinct verification checks, runs facial recognition against watchlists and politically exposed persons, screens “adverse media” across 14 categories (including terrorism and espionage), and assigns risk and similarity scores.

Persona collects—and can retain for up to three years—IP addresses, browser and device fingerprints, government ID numbers, phone numbers, names, faces, plus a battery of “selfie” analytics like suspicious-entity detection, pose repeat detection, and age inconsistency checks."

https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2026/02/age-verification-vendor-persona-left-frontend-exposed

Age verification vendor Persona left frontend exposed, researchers say

Behind a basic age check, researchers say Persona’s system runs extensive identity, watchlist, and adverse-media screening.

Malwarebytes
Feb 22 at 8:04amWeb
Show threadxtaldaveFeb 22
Not Discord now:
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/discord-and-persona-end-partnership-after-shady-uk-age-test-sparks-outcry/
Fury over Discord’s age checks explodes after shady Persona test in UK

Persona confirmed all age-check data from Discord's UK test was deleted.

Ars Technica
Show threadAnarchic Teapot ⚧️Feb 22
@xtaldave Why not? It's had a Nazi problem for ages, so this is the standard distraction.
Show threadWvOostveenFeb 22

@xtaldave

Persona, isn't that the site on the background of LinkedIn, that does the real verification and storage of your data?

Show threadxtaldaveFeb 22
@WvOostveen I am not 100% sure, but quite possibly, yes.
Show threadKees de Kooter 🍉Feb 22
@WvOostveen @xtaldave Yes, LinkedIn is using this too.