> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://legacy-docs.usesmileid.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://legacy-docs.usesmileid.com/further-reading/faqs/what-happens-under-the-hood.md).

# What happens under the hood?

Our KYC Services offer various ways to verify a person's identity.

In the case where you simply want to verify an ID Number, we process the information provided by you and use it to query a Government ID Authority. Once we get a response, we process the information so that it can be interpreted by you, the partner.

![Enhanced KYC](/files/-Mct7vEk-10BRuv2PDZn)

When you want to use our KYC Services to make sure your user is who they say they are, we process both a Selfie of your user and the ID information they provided, in order to;\
\
1\. Verify the ID Number,\
2\. Retrieve the user's Personal Information including an official ID Photo.\
\
Once we have the ID Photo, we compare it to the Selfie so we can tell you how confident we are that these two people are the same.

![Enhanced KYC + SmartSelfie™](/files/-Mct8FEVWRrotkqh8Z03)

Once a user is registered, either by a simple Selfie registration (no ID information) or a registration on condition of a passed KYC check, we are able to perform 2FA (2-factor authentication) using face verification, so that you can securely provide access to your users.

This requires you to provide a single Selfie to be compared against the Registered Selfie on our System. Then we tell you how confident we are that these two people are the same person.

![SmartSelfie™ Authentication](/files/-Mct8VJYdCmDCOll1DWn)


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