To stay compliant with carriers and help reduce the risk of phone fraud, we need to ensure that every OpenPhone workspace belongs to a real person or business with good and lawful intentions.
What happens if I don’t verify my identity?
In an unverified state, your number will have the following limitations:
- Your workspace will be limited to three outgoing conversations per day
- You will only be able to receive inbound calls from the number used to verify your OpenPhone account.
- You'll have no automated call forwarding options
- You will not be able to add a new phone number.
These limitations will persist as long as you're in an unverified state, even in a paid subscription.
How do I verify my identity?
You will see a verification banner pinned to the top of your OpenPhone workspace across devices until your account is verified. Workspace owners can click the “learn more” link to begin the verification process.
How does identity verification work?
OpenPhone works with Stripe to conduct identity verification online. As a Stripe partner, OpenPhone is part of a network of millions of companies that also take verification seriously, such as Amazon, Google, and Zoom. Stripe helps with identity verification, along with accepting payments and managing subscriptions.
Stripe helps OpenPhone confirm your identity by conducting the following checks:
- Stripe captures images of the front and back of your government-issued photo ID and reviews it to make sure that the document is authentic. Stripe's automated identity verification technology looks for patterns to help determine if an ID document is real or fake. This process is like a bank teller checking your ID document to confirm that it’s real.
- Stripe captures photos of your face and reviews them to confirm that the photo ID belongs to you. Their automated identity verification technology uses distinctive physiological characteristics of your face (known as biometric identifiers) to match those photos with the photo on your ID document. This process is similar to a bank teller visually confirming the photo on your ID document looks like you. But, it’s a higher-tech and more accurate way to identify you as a unique person.
- Stripe collects your name, date of birth, and government ID number, and validates that it’s real. They’ll check this information against a global set of databases to confirm that it exists. Stripe will ask for your consent before collecting and using your biometric information. They’ll only use your verification data in accordance with the permissions you grant before starting the verification process, and based on their Privacy Policy. Learn more about how Stripe is storing and handling your data.
What are the best practices for a successful verification?
Before starting the verification process, here’s what you need:
- A valid government-issued photo ID document. Not a photocopy or a picture of an ID document. Ensure that the ID document isn’t expired.
- A device with a camera (we recommend using a mobile device). Cameras on mobile devices typically take higher-quality photos than a webcam.
The quality of the images captured affects success rates dramatically. Below are a few best practices to help make sure that your verification succeeds:
- Capture a clear image. Make sure that the images aren’t too dark or bright, and don’t have a glare. Hold steady and allow your camera to focus to avoid blurry photos.
- Don’t block any part of your ID document in the image. Ideally you can lay it flat to take the photo.
- Don’t block any part of your face. Remove sunglasses, masks, or other accessories.
- Find a location with ambient lighting. Avoid spaces with strong overhead lights that cast a shadow on your face or ID document. Avoid sitting directly in front of a bright light which can wash out your face and add a glare to your ID document.
Who has access to my verification data?
Both OpenPhone and Stripe have access to the information that you submit through the verification flow. We rely on Stripe to help store your verification data. Stripe uses access controls and security standards that are at least as stringent as those used to handle their own Know Your Customer (KYC) and payments compliance data. Learn more about how Stripe handles and stores your data.
Can I get verified using a different method?
No. Currently, the process described here is our only option to verify using your Government ID and following our in-app prompts.
How can I access or delete my verification data?
We respect your privacy and will only retain your verification data as long as you allow. To have your information removed, send a request to compliance-team@openphone.com after verification.