What’s changed

The changes to Verified Handles itself, newest first: new pages, new features, and changes to how the site works. A change to one entry is kept in that entry’s own history instead.

  • A corrections policy says how to report a wrong handle or an impersonator, what happens next, and how every correction is kept in the entry’s history. Corrections
  • A new page explains where the handles come from and how they are checked. How Verified Handles works
  • Entry pages are clearer: each says in plain words where to find the official accounts, shows when it was last updated and when its handles were last checked, and suggests related entries chosen for it.
  • The About page says who runs Verified Handles, where its data comes from, and what the Verified badge means. About

  • Each entry shows what kind of entry it is, such as a person, a band or a museum, and you can browse the directory by kind. Browse

  • AI assistants can look up and search the directory without an API key, and a new guide shows how to connect one. Connect an AI assistant
  • The Privacy Policy and the Terms of Service were rewritten: they name who runs the site, and say plainly what data is kept and for how long. Privacy Policy

  • New developer documentation: guides, and a full reference for the public API. Developers
  • Entries can list Bluesky and Mastodon accounts.

  • The form to apply for a new entry goes one step at a time, with a preview of the entry before you send it. Apply for an entry

  • An entry can show up to six images: its main image and a gallery of five.

  • The old site’s support pages are back as policies, on paid services, external links and how the site is funded, and their old addresses lead to them. Policies

  • Search finds names even when they are misspelt.

  • Anyone can apply for a new entry, follow their application, and hear the decision. Applications

  • Each image shows its licence and credit, with an “About this image” page and a way to report an image.

  • The new Verified Handles went live at verifiedhandles.org, rebuilt from the ground up, with every entry and its full edit history carried over from verifiedhandles.com.

How a correction to an entry is made and recorded is set out in the corrections policy.