A VoiceMark reservation is a protected namespace record created by VoiceMark in advance of a named individual's own registration.
A reserved record holds a name and unique vmk ID in the VoiceMark Registry. It does not contain any biometric voice data or acoustic fingerprint. It cannot be used to verify, license, or deploy the named individual's voice. Every reserved record is clearly marked as Reserved — not yet registered in all public-facing displays.
Voice synthesis technology can now replicate a person's voice from seconds of audio. The individuals most at risk — public figures, executives, politicians, and artists — are also the least protected, because no infrastructure for voice identity currently exists.
VoiceMark reserves voice namespaces for two purposes.
Protection from fraud and impersonation. By holding a namespace for a named individual, VoiceMark prevents bad actors from registering that name and issuing fraudulent voice certificates. A reserved record signals to any platform checking the registry: this voice has not been registered — any certificate claiming to represent this person should be treated as unverified.
Enabling rightful ownership. A reserved record creates a clear, immediate path for the named individual — or their authorised representative — to claim and register their own voice. Once claimed and registered, the individual holds full ownership of their VoiceMark record, including all permissions, licensing terms, and governance controls.
VoiceMark creates reservation records for individuals in the following categories, drawn from publicly available sources including Wikipedia, Wikidata, parliamentary and congressional records, and public company filings.
This list is not exhaustive. VoiceMark may add categories over time. Reservations are created for individuals who meet the general criterion of having a significant, documented public voice.
Every reserved record in the VoiceMark Registry displays the following:
Reserved by VoiceMark. This person has not registered their voice. This reservation protects their identity from unauthorised use. To claim this record, visit voicemark.defchat.ai/claim.
The record shows the individual's publicly known name, a unique vmk ID, the reservation date, a Reserved tier badge, and a ghost portrait — a visual placeholder not derived from actual voice data.
The record does not show voice data, acoustic fingerprints, frequency analysis, or any biometric information.
Any named individual — or their authorised legal representative — may claim their reserved record at any time. Claiming is free.
The claimant completes a government ID verification using a passport or national ID. VoiceMark uses a third-party verification partner and never receives or stores the document — only a boolean pass/fail signal is returned.
The claimant records the VoiceMark canonical phrase on their mobile device. The acoustic fingerprint is extracted and stored. The reserved record is converted to a Registered record in the claimant's name.
Additional steps — company email confirmation, secondary ID — upgrade the record to Verified or Certified tier.
For anonymous dataset records, individuals who contributed their voice to a publicly licensed dataset such as Mozilla Common Voice may claim the corresponding anonymous reservation by completing a live recording that matches the acoustic fingerprint on file. Matching is performed automatically. No name or identity is required unless the claimant chooses to associate one.
Estates, talent agencies, legal representatives, and employers may initiate a claim on behalf of a named individual. The process requires documentation of the representative relationship — such as a power of attorney, talent management agreement, or employment contract — and the named individual's own participation in the voice recording step.
A representative can initiate and manage the claim process, but cannot substitute their own voice for the named individual's.
Any named individual may request removal of their reserved record at any time by contacting hello@defchat.ai. VoiceMark will remove the record within 5 business days of a verified request.
No explanation or justification is required. VoiceMark respects every individual's right not to participate in the registry.
On removal, the reserved record is deleted from the public registry, the vmk ID is retired and cannot be reassigned, and VoiceMark will not recreate the reservation for that individual without their explicit consent.
Reserved records contain only publicly available information: the individual's publicly known name, a deterministically generated vmk ID, the reservation date, the category of reservation, and the public source of the name.
Reserved records contain no biometric data, voice recordings, audio files, or acoustic fingerprints.
Reserved records are processed under the legitimate interests legal basis (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)) — specifically, the legitimate interest of protecting named individuals from voice fraud and identity impersonation.
For questions about this policy, reservation requests, removal requests, or claim assistance:
This policy may be updated from time to time. The current version is always available at voicemark.defchat.ai/reservation-policy.