A Vital Alternative in a Time of Public Health Defunding: How STD Verify Fills the Gaps
STD Verify®️ is a company designed to help YOU! As a social purpose corporation, or SPC, we have an obligation (legally!) to uphold our end of the bargain in promoting and pursuing a goal that engenders positive societal change. What change could that be? We are a company born out of the turbulence and uncertainty surrounding STIs and safer sex. As two gay men in San Francisco, we have had our fair share of fun in the sun and meets in the sheets. However, talking with other friends from different backgrounds, we found that everyone having sex was susceptible to many of the same pesky infections.
Hmmm, we thought and considered. There must be a better way than just saying you’ve been tested or trying to remember when exactly that last test was. OMG, and who wants to pull up and scroll through their medical history with someone right before getting it on? Eeeeek. We wanted something verifiable, easy to use, and secure. There wasn’t a way to do this on the dating or hookup apps we were using. We couldn’t locate an existing option that even came close to what we needed to make our lives better. So we decided to build it ourselves.
We formed a company called STD Verify®️ (STI Verify was taken 😭) and registered it in California, our home state. STD Verify®️ is the holding company, think Apple. What you would use at STD Verify®️ is status.health, think the iPhone. The service that we provide to users is called status.health, it is our verification platform. Rather than track whether you’re testing positive or negative, here at STD Verify®️, we just want to support you for getting tested in the first place. We’ll even reward you for doing so, with points that can eventually be redeemed for tickets to events, discounts on premium subscriptions for apps, and even merchandise.
Wait, wait, wait. Hold the phone. Now, why the heck would you share your info with us? Well, we’re pioneering an early application of a super cool technology called ZKPs (zero-knowledge proofs. This is a novel and luminous cryptographic innovation that enables trustless verification with groundbreaking privacy guarantees. Basically, you upload a test result, we use machine learning models that filter out all the sensitive info we don’t require, so that’s your test results, your address, even your name. We do this using optical character reference and natural language processing modules, which have been trained to do exactly this. Then, after verifying your test was performed by a real provider on a real date, we generate a ZKP that verifies you were tested, without storing or sharing info that is identifiable. You can then share this ZKP that proves you were indeed tested, or you can keep it for your own records and bank our rewards.
By doing this, we will have created a one stop shop, free by the way, to have a verifiable, easy to use, and secure place to know that someone has been recently tested, and get rewarded for using it! We really couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. We registered on April 9th, 2025. On May 4th, 2025, the New York Times reported on the Trump administration cancelling “more than $800 million worth of research into the health of LGBTQ people,” of course this includes attempts at curbing the growing surge of STIs in the US.
These STIs disproportionately affect the LGBTQ community, which is why research into them was targeted, but they affect millions, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. According to the CDC, approximately 1 in 5 American adults is currently living with an STI. This is a national problem and a global epidemic that deserves a response. If the government wants to decrease its focus on the issue, this is devastating to the communities most at risk, but it also heralds an opportunity for us to really make a difference. Now, with the reneging of government grants, our solution is more relevant than ever, to protect ourselves and our sexual partners, no matter who you are.
What we’re offering is safety, reliability, and prizes for your participation. We envision a world with less worry, less risk about whether someone has been tested. We also want a world where you have the tools to show off and be proud of your responsible choices, if you feel like it. Whether you want to share that with others or keep it totally private, we’ll reward you. Be tested, be sexy, be rewarded.
If you’d like to participate in our survey about STD Verify®️ and status.health, we are giving out $50 through Venmo to a random participant. It is attached at the link below. You will have to fill out our Google Form, have an email address, and Venmo handle to be considered for the award. Thank you for your reading today, we hope to chat with you soon!
Google Form
