Worldcoin has deleted all biometric data collected from Kenyan citizens in compliance with a High Court order that found the firm’s data collection unlawful under Kenya’s data protection laws.
Worldcoin is a crypto-backed digital identity project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, designed to verify that users are real humans by scanning their irises with specialised hardware in exchange for a digital ID and cryptocurrency tokens.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) confirmed that all iris scans and other biometric identifiers gathered during Worldcoin’s 2023 enrolment exercise have now been erased from the project’s systems.
The deletion follows a May 5, 2025 High Court ruling that Tools for Humanity — the company behind Worldcoin — violated the Data Protection Act of 2019 by collecting sensitive personal data without proper consent and without conducting a mandatory Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA).
The court directed the data controller to destroy the data within seven days under ODPC supervision.
Worldcoin’s operations in Kenya began in 2023 with the deployment of its signature “orb” devices, spherical scanners that captured iris and facial scans from participants. In exchange, users were offered 25 free Worldcoin tokens, an incentive that drew large crowds but also deep concern from privacy advocates and regulators.
Kenya’s regulatory pushback was swift. In August 2023, the government suspended the project amid fears the data could be misused or transferred outside the country without sufficient safeguards. Earlier directives from the ODPC had already instructed the company to halt data collection, only to be ignored until the formal government suspension.
This development closes a significant chapter in Kenya’s tussle with Worldcoin but also highlights broader tensions between innovation and privacy in the digital identity space.
When Worldcoin first arrived on the continent, it was pitched as a tool for financial inclusion and a way to verify “proof of personhood” in Web3 systems. Critics, however, warned that biometric data is inherently sensitive, and offering crypto tokens as a quid pro quo risked undermining voluntary consent.
Kenya’s suspension of Worldcoin in August 2023 stemmed from these very concerns, with regulators noting that the rapid expansion of “iris scanning” without clear legal frameworks posed risks to personal data security and sovereignty.
Globally, Worldcoin’s approach has faced similar scrutiny, with regulators in Europe and Southeast Asia examining or restricting the project over privacy and consent issues.
The Kenyan ruling now stands as one of the most definitive legal rebukes of the project’s data practices, underscoring the urgent need for clear digital identity governance across emerging tech markets.
