Verified makers and projects
AI makes it cheap to fake a person, a profile, or a whole product. We want Build in Public to stay a community of real people, and a directory of makers and projects you can trust. That's what verification is for.
It's optional. Nobody has to verify to join, add projects or follow people. We try to strike the right balance: ask for as little as possible, and keep even less.
Verified makers
What the badge means
A real person is behind the account, they verified only this one account, and the name next to the badge is theirs. A first name alone, initials or leaving out a middle name is fine. A brand name or someone else's name isn't.
How it works
You pay a one-time fee of $5, then take a photo of a government ID and a selfie with Didit, our verification partner. The check is automatic and takes about two minutes.
What we keep
Didit checks your ID and selfie automatically, and stores them, not us. We keep whether you're verified, whether your profile name matches your ID, and a code that stops the same ID from verifying a second account. The privacy policy has the details.
Why there's a fee
It pays for the check, and it makes fake accounts expensive. It's charged once. It's not a subscription and doesn't include any paid features.
Keeping the badge
If you change your name, we check it against your ID again, and the badge is hidden while it doesn't match. We remove the badge from anyone who impersonates someone.
Verified projects
A project's badge means its maker showed it's theirs: the site names their X account, its domain has their DNS record, its App Store listing points to them, or its GitHub repository belongs to them. It's free, and we check again every month, so a badge doesn't outlive the proof.
What verification unlocks
- Some deals are only for verified members, so partners know each one goes to a real person, once.
- Verified projects don't count toward the limit of 5 unverified projects.
- Where it matters that someone is real, more features may be for verified members only.