--- title: "Proof of Personhood in the Polkadot App" description: "Reference for how the Polkadot App runs Proof of Personhood, with biometric verification, Ring-VRF aliases on People Chain, and the PoP tier model." categories: "Apps, Reference" url: "https://developers.polkadot.com/reference/apps/hosts/polkadot-app/pop/" word_count: 653 token_estimate: 894 version_hash: "sha256:84ca564837976d5228a2c54af91af9a364af8ebd76378dfaa3f84816d97f8efe" last_updated: "2026-11-13T11:04:04+00:00" --- # Proof of Personhood ## Introduction Proof of Personhood (PoP) is Polkadot's privacy-preserving "real human" check. The Polkadot App is the only place PoP verification happens. When a user completes PoP, they do it on their phone, in the App, once. From then on, a single proof unlocks the developer-facing surface area that gates on personhood, including the TestNet faucet, short `.dot` names, and any alias-gated feature inside a Polkadot Product. The App's role is narrow but load-bearing. It runs the verification flow, registers the result on the People Chain, and produces Ring-VRF aliases on demand for Products that ask for one through the Host API. Products see the aliases, not the underlying identity. :::caution[Provisional] The exact PoP verification flow inside the App (the video or biometric interaction, the on-device key-derivation path, peer-attestation cadence for ongoing membership) is still being finalized. Lifecycle diagrams and the precise list of pallets a PoP submission touches will be added once they are confirmed. ::: ## Ring-VRF Aliases A Ring-VRF alias is a context-specific pseudonym derived from the user's PoP-anchored identity. Aliases have three properties Product developers depend on: - **Anchored in personhood**: An alias only exists for users who have completed PoP. A valid Ring-VRF proof over an alias is also a valid proof of personhood for the user behind it. - **Scoped to a context**: The default context is the requesting Product's `.dot` domain. The same user produces a consistent alias each time they return to your Product, but a different alias for any other Product. - **Unlinkable across domains**: Two Products cannot correlate that they share a user unless the user explicitly grants a cross-domain alias. The App is the side of the system that holds the alias-producing material. A Product's call to `app.wallet.getAnonymousAlias()` resolves to the App on the user's phone, which signs the alias request. ## PoP Tiers: Full vs. Lite The People Chain recognizes two personhood tiers, both registered in the App: - **PoP Full**: Cryptographically proven personhood. The user completes the full verification flow in the App: a biometric scan plus ongoing peer-attestation via recurring online sessions. The user's key joins the active membership ring on the People Chain. PoP Full holders can generate zero-knowledge proofs that they are a real person without revealing which one. - **PoP Lite**: Third-party attestation. An attester authorized by governance submits an on-chain attestation that an account belongs to a real user. The account is then registered against a separate `lite-people` ring on the People Chain alongside a communication identifier and a username. Lite supply is bounded by governance, which is the spam-resistance mechanism. Lite holders can produce lite-ring Ring-VRF proofs but do not yet hold membership in the full personhood ring. Lite is the on-ramp; Full is the destination. The dotNS registrar uses tier to gate which name lengths a user can register for free. See [dotNS PopRules Pricing](/reference/apps/infrastructure/dotns/poprules-pricing/) for the full PopRules tier table. ## What This Unlocks for a Product A Product running inside Polkadot Desktop can reach the App's PoP surface in two ways via `@parity/product-sdk`: - **Alias-gated features**: Call `getAnonymousAlias()` for the user's per-Product alias, then `createProof(challenge)` to prove control of that alias against a challenge. Gate features on the proof rather than on the user's account address. - **On-chain personhood gates**: Dispatch calls under the `under_alias` runtime origin against PoP pallets (e.g. `pallet-people`). The runtime verifies the underlying Ring-VRF proof and the called pallet's view of the caller is the alias, not the underlying account. ## Where to Go Next
- **Verify Your Identity** --- The setup step where the developer completes PoP, plus the PopRules tier table. [→ Get Started](/reference/apps/infrastructure/dotns/poprules-pricing/)