I Built an Open-Source Identity Verification Platform. Here's What I Learned.

So I built a thing. It's called Idswyft — an open-source identity verification platform. The kind of thing banks and fintechs pay $2-5 per check for, except you can self-host it, audit every line, and it's free. Let me walk you through what it is, what problem it solves, and the technical choices behind it. No fluff, just real talk from someone who learned a LOT building this. Wait, What Even Is Identity Verification? You know when you sign up for a new bank account or crypto exchange and they ask you to take a photo of your driver's license and then a selfie? That's identity verification (also called KYC — Know Your Customer). Behind that simple "take a photo" flow, there's a whole pipeline running: Reading the text off your ID (OCR) Checking if the document is real or tampered with Making sure the person holding the phone is the same person on the ID Checking you're not on any sanctions lists (coming soon) Companies like Jumio, Onfido, and Persona charge $2-5 every time someone goes