Allegations in Pi Network: Is our data safe?

In this article we are going to look into allegations that Pi Network would actually just be a scam to make money for the founders by showing you advertising on the mobile app and or that it would be a scam that's just trying to sell your data.

The reason why we are talking about this specifically in this article is because I noticed here and there a few posts on the Pi Network subreddit that make those allegations and my conclusion is so I'm quite certain that if there are few people that are willing to voice their concerns, there are even more people that have the same concerns but don't speak out. So I made this article to provide all the answers and basically help you figure out if Pi Network is a scam that just tried to make money with your ads or if it's legit or if they're selling your data and so on.

But before going to the allegations, I pointed out in my previous article that it's hard to tell if it's legit or if it's a scam, we will see over time but there is actually nothing to lose besides a few seconds of your time. And with that, let's now look at the allegations in the Pi Network.

Allegations in the Pi Network.

1. Showing advertisements for money.

I think this is an allegation that's easy to disprove, all I need to do is show you my Pi app, go to my profile and in the bottom you can see a switch that we can disable ads.

When we want to disable them, we will also see a pop-up that informs us that the ad revenue is actually used to pay for servers and other things.

You may not believe it, but since Pi has to store the data of millions of users, and I'm not talking about your personal data, I'm talking about who you invited, who you signed up with, how many mining sessions you have completed and all that other stuff, they require servers and databases for that and the advertising revenue is used to pay for those things.

But it doesn't stop there, if you have read my previous article about Pi Network, you already know that in order for you to use your Pi coins during Phrase 3, you'll have to complete the KYC verification to prove that you are a unique human being to prevent people from having multiple accounts and basically scamming the system.

And you are also likely aware of the fact that Pi uses a third-party service called YOTI for that verification process at the moment. Now there are also going to be alternative methods for the KYC verification but for now YOTI is the only option.

And another thing is that YOTI basically charges 1 British Pound per verification - meaning that in order to verify a hundred thousand users in Pi Network, Pi Network actually has to pay a hundred thousand Pound. Maybe Pi Network negotiated with YOTI and maybe they have a different pricing, but can see that the KYC verification process is actually quite expensive and the advertising revenue is also used to pay for that. If you don't believe that, then just consider the fact that since I signed up in August 2020, Pi Network provided a hundred thousand KYC verification slots, and again, those have to be paid. YOTI does not offer them for free because YOTI is a third-party and not a part of Pi Network.

So as you can see, it's highly unlikely that the Pi core team actually enriches themselves on the advertising revenue, considering the expenses they have to cover with that revenue.

And with that, we can put the allegation to rest that Pi would just be a scam to get you watch the ads and for them to make money because, again, in a summary, you can disable the ads if you don't like for whatever reason and don't want to support the project in that way, and if you have the ads running there's enough that the Pi core team uses that revenue to actually pays for the Pi infrastructure.

2. Collect and sell your personal data allegation.

There are couple of reasons why I don't believe that for a second. Let's tackle with the obvious reason;

The KYC process.

In the YOTI application, it points out that your data is only being stored encrypted - it means when you upload your ID in YOTI, they only store that information encrypted so Pi Network and even YOTI itself doesn't have access to the details of that ID anymore once it's confirmed. And when you proceed in Pi Network with your KYC verification, all that happens is that Pi Network application connects to YOTI and asks if the user is verified or not, so if there is a verified ID, and basically if you confirmed your identity in YOTI by providing a government issued ID that proves your identity, so Pi Network never gets access to that personal information.

If you think about it, if Pi Network was designed to be an elaborate scam to collect your personal information, they would have not introduced a third-party application for KYC where they have to pay for verification but they would have simply added an in-app process for you to upload your ID and provide additional information.

And with all of that, it becomes quite clear that Pi Network is definitely not a scam. We don't know yet if the currency will succeed but it's very likely that we'll see Phase 3 during 2021, which means at that point the currency will have a value and most likely you'll be able to trade it on popular exchanges. So if you don't have a Pi Network account yet, now is the time to jump on the train and still get as many free coins as you can before that actually happens.

Helpful articles about Pi Network.

Pi Network KYC verification process.

Withdrawing and trading your Pi coin.

Pi Network's Legitimacy.

These articles are from my first account.

@Ryryry143