zlacker

Why is it "intense verification?" What is a good alternative? I lost access to my blizzard account once and I had to send in my driver's license.

>>setham+(OP)
Because Facebook is not a government institution. My legal identity is no concern of theirs.

You can do a lot of stuff at the bank, with your doctor, etc without ever having to show your state ID. What is facebook doing that’s so very serious they’d need it?

(not OP but I use a consistent nom de plume online)

>>Swizec+i3
Profiling you to increase revenue.

>>setham+(OP)
This seems fair. I need to do the same when picking up a parcel from the shop. Just an easy way of seeing your Alice or Bob and not Chuck.

>>setham+(OP)
There comes a point when the demands of the business outweigh the value of the services they provide. For some of us that will include providing identification, particularly in cases where the handling of the identification is opaque. These cases are far removed from letting front line staff glance at a card to compare your face to a photo or verify the details that you voluntarily submitted on a form. The only times I have let anyone actually handle my identification for services directed towards consumers were for financial services and with my employer. The latter case was only because I knew how the identification would be handled in the transaction.

In the case of Blizzard I would say no and accept my losses. (Well, let's say Steam since I have actually dealt with them.) In the case of Facebook or Google, I would say no simply because I don't trust their motivations.

>>Swizec+i3
It would raise some flags if my bank representative or doctor ask for a photo copy of my passport. Asking to simply see it, given that they have a specific reason to do so, would not.

Online however there is no such thing to simply see something. Everything is a copy that can be used for any purpose.

A few years ago there was a major leak at a porn streaming site with a large number of people getting their passports leaked. It was reported as a major disaster for those involved.

>>Swizec+i3
I show my ID to pick up my order from Home Depot. I’d suppose Facebook would be trying to prevent someone else from accessing your account, like Home Depot is preventing someone from taking my order.

>>setham+Ph
Very different to flash an ID to a store employee than to give them a copy of your license tied to a highly-detailed account of online activity on and off of their platform :shrug:

>>shakez+mn
sure - but, as I originally asked, what is the alternative? I'm not attempting snark; I genuinely want to know what a better approach is.