Trust & Safety

How Archipelag.io verifies users and providers to keep the network safe and trustworthy.

Identity Verification

Archipelag.io requires identity verification for users who submit compute Cargos and providers who contribute compute resources. This helps prevent fraud, abuse, and ensures accountability across the network.

What’s verified

  • Government-issued photo ID — passport, driver’s license, or national ID card
  • Selfie match — a live selfie is compared against the photo on your ID to confirm you are the document holder

What we store

We store only the minimum information needed:

  • Your verified name — as it appears on your government ID
  • Your country — the issuing country of your ID document
  • Verification status — whether your identity has been confirmed

We do not store copies of your ID documents or selfie images. All document processing is handled securely by Stripe Identity, a PCI-certified payment infrastructure provider.

Why it’s required

Identity verification serves several purposes:

  1. Fraud prevention — Ensures real people behind accounts, reducing abuse and fraudulent activity
  2. Accountability — Compute providers handling sensitive Cargos must be identifiable
  3. Compliance — Supports GDPR and EU AI Act requirements for data processing transparency
  4. Network trust — Verified users and providers create a more reliable compute network

When it’s required

  • Browsing the Cargo Registry — No verification needed
  • Exploring the platform — No verification needed
  • Submitting compute Cargos — Verification required
  • Registering as an Island — Verification required
  • Purchasing credits — Small amounts allowed without verification (free tier)

Appeal process

If your verification is rejected, you can:

  1. Try again — Submit a new verification with a different document or better photo quality
  2. Contact support — Email hey@archipelag.io if you believe the rejection was in error
  3. Request manual review — In exceptional circumstances, our team can review your case manually

Publisher Verification

Developers who publish Cargos to the marketplace go through a separate verification process:

  • Creator (default) — up to 3 submissions, limited resource allocation, no GPU access
  • Verified — up to 10 submissions, higher resource limits, identity-verified publisher badge
  • Official — unlimited submissions, custom resource limits, GPU access, partner-level support

Publisher tier upgrades are reviewed by the Archipelag.io team. All submitted Cargos undergo automated security scanning before approval.

Cargo Reputation

Every Cargo in the marketplace has a reputation score (0.0 to 5.0) based on:

  • Job success rate — successful completions increase score, failures decrease it
  • User reviews — star ratings and written reviews from consumers
  • Automated monitoring — Cargos with sustained low success rates are automatically flagged or suspended

Cargos that drop below a 0.5 reputation score are suspended from the network. Repeated complaints trigger manual review.

Account Bans

Accounts may be suspended for violations of our Terms of Service, including:

  • Submitting malicious or illegal Cargos
  • Attempting to circumvent security controls
  • Fraudulent activity or identity misrepresentation
  • Abuse of compute resources

Banned users may appeal by contacting hey@archipelag.io.

Reporting

To report trust or safety concerns, contact hey@archipelag.io.