Smile Identity Blog

Mark Straub · 5 April 2018

Update to “What Privacy Means”

“You go someplace with one person, but everyone else knows where you were (or still are), and when and with whom you went, because one of you had your face tagged in a photo taken by someone else in your network, and the location was shared.”

Mark Straub · 3 April 2018

What Privacy Means

At Smile Identity, we believe anyone should be able to prove their identity easily, anywhere in the world. Proving your identity generally involves sharing information about yourself. But just because you share data once with one party, doesn’t mean you should forfeit all rights to how your data is used in the future.

Mark Straub · 27 February 2018

Fraud vs. Friction

Start by creating an on-boarding experience that is simple and low-friction. Don’t block accounts for incomplete information, but rather, set up tiered levels of access.

Mark Straub · 12 February 2018

Fighting Algorithmic Bias in A.I.

“A.I. software is only as smart as the data used to train it. If there are many more white men than black women in the system, it will be worse at identifying the black women.”

Mark Straub · 19 January 2018

How I Spent MLK Day — Online Airline Tickets in Africa

This can’t be the way of the future. As more Africans come online, travel and transact across borders there must easier ways to sufficiently prove your identity from any smart phone — including quickly completing a 2-factor or biometric authentication tied to a previously verified KYC — even from places like Niamey or Lagos.

Mark Straub · 3 January 2018

Building for Where it Matters Most

As we’re building Smile Identity, I am often asked why we focus on markets outside the United States when identity and security are now such big topics in the U.S.