Claude Bids Farewell to the Anonymous Era: Anthropic Will Introduce Real-Name Face Scanning, Allowing Data Sharing with Law Enforcement Without a Warrant

**June 15 Update**: Anthropic, the AI startup behind the Claude chatbot, has notified users of a privacy policy overhaul, with a new Terms of Service set to go into effect on July 8, 2026. The changes signal a major shift: mandatory real-name registration and facial identity verification, plus a lower bar for sharing user data with law enforcement—effectively closing the book on anonymity for large-scale AI model services. **Identity Verification Rules**: For individual Claude users (Free, Pro, and Max tiers), identity checks will be required in cases of suspected account abuse, policy violations, or reports of minor-related activity. The process uses third-party compliance provider Persona, where users must upload government-issued ID and complete a live selfie for biometric matching. Anthropic confirms this biometric and ID data won’t be stored on its own servers, nor used for model training or marketing purposes. **Data Sharing Adjustments**: The new policy loosens data disclosure rules, moving beyond the old standard of only sharing when legally compelled. Under the updated terms, if Anthropic holds a "good faith belief" that sharing user conversation logs or data is "reasonably necessary" to prevent physical harm, fraud, illegal activity, or uphold platform rules, it may voluntarily share that data with law enforcement or government agencies. This change applies only to individual consumer accounts; data from enterprise and API customers remains protected by commercial confidentiality agreements. **Preceding Security Tightening**: Back on June 9, Anthropic already implemented a 30-day mandatory data retention policy for its most powerful models—including Fable 5 and Mythos 5—to investigate jailbreaking attempts. While user verification and proactive data sharing have long been standard for U.S. tech giants like OpenAI and Google, recent moves (such as export restrictions on top-tier models and Fable 5 account bans) pushed Anthropic to ramp up security measures. The updates have prompted sensitive users and businesses to reassess Claude’s privacy boundaries.