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A verified human stays bound to their humanness and uniqueness for as long as they hold the identifier they verified with. Recognizing a returning user is just a matter of which identifier they still have.

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What recognition hangs on

Verified asRecognized byHow long it lasts
AccountA phone or email (optionally your external id)Permanent — survives new devices, new browsers, cleared cookies
GuestAn anonymous identifier in the browserUntil the identifier is cleared, or the guest record rolls off the pool
In both cases the person doesn’t redo work they’ve already done — as long as they still carry the identifier that points back to their verification. An account holder presents the same phone or email and is recognized anywhere. A guest is recognized on the same browser, until that identifier goes away.

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Designing for the return trip

  • Re-run the same call. Send returning users through the same vycheck() or initialize entry point. A recognized human passes through quickly instead of starting over.
  • Bind an identity if they’ll come back. If you expect repeat visits, verify them as an account by attaching a phone, email, or external id. It’s the difference between “recognized forever” and “recognized until they clear cookies.”
  • Confirm server-side every time. Recognition still produces a fresh token each trip — always confirm it on your backend before granting access.
Guests intentionally re-verify more often than account holders — see Accounts vs guests for why, and when to prefer one over the other.