Getting set up with Witness

Witness proves that the person on your video call is really who they say they are. What you need to do depends on what you are here for, and you can do both.

Prove it's you on your calls

You need a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 27 or later, an iPhone, and a passport with a chip. Witness verifies the MacBook's built-in camera, not an external webcam. Look for the chip symbol on the passport's cover. Not every country's passport can be read yet, and the app tells you if it cannot read yours. Driving licences and identity cards are not accepted today.

Each step ticks itself on your account page once it is done.

1. Get the Mac app

Download Witness from the Download button, drag it to Applications, open it, and sign in with your Witness account. Then it asks to install Witness Camera, and macOS asks you twice:

1. A macOS dialog says a system extension needs your approval. Allow it.
2. Then, in System Settings under Login Items & Extensions, Camera Extensions, switch Witness Camera on. The app shows you this step and has a button that opens the right pane.

No restart is needed. If macOS ever does require one, the app says so. The first time you open the app, macOS also notes that it was downloaded from the internet; that is the normal check for any app from outside the App Store.

2. Verify your passport

Get the Witness app on your iPhone. In the Mac app, choose Set up identity, then follow your phone: hold your passport against the top of the phone so it can read the chip inside. The chip carries a signature from the government that issued it, and your phone checks that signature itself.

What reaches us is proof and the name on the passport, not the passport. The privacy policy sets out exactly what we hold.

3. Pair your phone

Open Witness on your phone and scan the code the Mac app shows. Your phone becomes the device that approves everything else, so use the phone you keep.

4. Register your Mac's camera

In the Mac app, register this Mac's camera, and approve it on your phone when it asks. Point the camera at a plain, evenly lit surface first, a blank wall or a sheet of paper, in good light, not at yourself. If the app asks for more light here, see this answer. It measures your camera's own sensor, takes a couple of minutes, and you only do it once per camera.

5. Try it

Choose Witness Camera as your camera in Zoom, Meet, Teams or any app that lets you pick one. The Witness app shows nine words. Read them to the person you are speaking with; they type them at witness.apertrue.photo/verify. Their page then shows three words: they read those back to you, and you type them into the Witness app to let them in. Only then does their page show the checks and a small picture from your camera for them to compare with your face on the call.

Read the words out rather than sending a link: saying them on the call is what ties the check to that call.

Check the people you deal with

You do not need an app for this, only your browser. It is free while Witness is in pilot.

1. Set up your workspace

On your account page, open Workspaces, give it your company's name, and choose Solo for one person or Team for three, with room for more.

2. Send a check request

Create a process for the piece of business, such as a hire or a supplier review, and say when it ends. Then add the person's email. They get an email asking them to prove it's them, which is free for them, and we guide them through the steps above. Nothing is shared until they accept.

3. Check them on your call

On the call, ask them to read you the nine words from their Witness app, and type them at witness.apertrue.photo/verify. Your page then shows three words: read them out to them, and they type them into their Witness app to let you in. Only then does your page show the check. Compare the picture on the page with the face on the call: if they are not the same person, the call is not what it claims to be.

4. Invite your colleagues

On a Team workspace, open Members and add a colleague's email. They get an invitation, make an account in a minute if they have none, and join.

5. Spending limits, if you want them

Everyone in a workspace can use its whole monthly allowance unless you set a limit for them. Set one on the Workspaces page only if you want to restrict someone; it carries over from month to month.

Check one call

If someone reads you nine words on a call, go to witness.apertrue.photo/verify and type them. Your page then shows three words: read them out to the person who gave you the nine words, and they type them into their Witness app to let you in. Only then does your page show the check. You do not need an account or an app.

Something not working?

The support page covers the common problems. Or email support@apertrue.photo; a person reads it and answers.