One profile.
Many audiences.
Little separation.
- Follower counts
- Public identity across contexts
- Connections that do not expire
- Old activity follows the person
- Access continues until blocked
Socials is developing a space where verified people can build real relationships while choosing how much of their identity to share. Season Zero has reached its review stage. The next step is to make trust and privacy work together.
READTHE QUESTION
Can we trust the person without exposing their whole life?
A real social life has boundaries. Friends, colleagues, family and people who share an interest do not all need access to the same information. Proving that you are real should not make your entire life public.
Our development direction is to separate identity verification, visible identity and permission to connect. These are design priorities, not claims that a complete verification or privacy system is already operating.
THE NEXT DESIGN DIRECTION
We aim to verify necessary facts while collecting less personal information. A social platform should explain who handles evidence, what is retained and how deletion works before asking for it.
Seasonal identity should offer a fresh boundary, with trusted relationships continued by mutual choice. Blocks and accountability must survive a reset. A new alias alone cannot prevent someone from recognising you.
A DIFFERENT SOCIAL CONTRACT
NEXT DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES · NOT YET DELIVERED
Build relationships around topics and activities, with clear controls over discovery, contact requests and who can see each contribution.
Evaluate ways to prove necessary facts without repeatedly uploading identity documents. No verification provider or credential architecture has been selected.
Explore quarterly privacy reviews and optional resets, plus immediate changes after harassment. Old links, history and relationship clues must be considered together.
Keep blocks, reports and necessary accountability across identity changes. Define retention, recovery and appeals before a wider pilot.
CURRENT STATUS
The Lab uses ChatGPT sign-in and provisional aliases. This is not proof of a unique verified human. This review does not erase existing accounts or discussions, and does not announce an automatic identity reset.
Resetting an identity cannot retrieve screenshots, erase copies or guarantee protection against tracking. Before the next pilot, we need to validate verification, permissions, retention and abuse handling.
This is an editorial development review, not a report of measured participant outcomes. View research responses ↗
SEASON ZERO REVIEW · 16 OCT 2026
The initial one-month experiment has reached its review point. Read the development summary, explore the research responses, or contribute through the survey. No Season One launch date is announced.
Read the Season Zero review ↗