Author | Asher(@Asher_ 0210)
Your X feed might soon be flooded with 'talk-to-earn' projects again.
On August 18th, Kaito AI announced the launch of its browser plugin, Kaito Pulse, further tying users' discussion behavior on X, on-chain activity, and social influence together. Simultaneously, Kaito revealed its first post-relaunch partnership with Axis Robotics, restarting the incentive model centered around content creators and community contributors.
Unlike the simple content incentives previously centered around Yaps, what Kaito aims to do this time is not just 'reward posting,' but to establish a new scoring system based on 'attention + behavior verification.'
What is Kaito Pulse?
Kaito Pulse is a browser plugin launched by Kaito, designed to add more 'on-chain identity' information to the X timeline, allowing users to not only see the views expressed by an X account but also understand the real market behavior behind it.
After installing the plugin, users can directly view other users' on-chain activity information within the X timeline, including public trading positions from platforms like Polymarket and Hyperliquid, thereby further assessing whether an account's views align with its actual actions.
By combining social influence with on-chain behavior, Kaito hopes to transform X from a mere information dissemination platform into a social layer that integrates 'views, identity, and trading behavior.'
This is also an evolution for Kaito from Yaps to Pulse.
Previously, Kaito primarily tracked the popularity of crypto discussions on X, creating content influence leaderboards, and incentivized user participation around KAITO. However, as many accounts began mass-producing content, the problem of measuring influence solely based on discussion volume became apparent. Therefore, Pulse further incorporates dimensions such as content influence, community interaction, and on-chain behavior verification, while introducing a new scoring system called Aura to measure user influence and verified on-chain behavior.
Previously, Kaito focused on who generated the most discussion; now, Kaito is more concerned with whose discussion is worth believing.
Plugin Requires Extensive Permissions, Sparking 'Data Collection' Controversy Post-Launch
The launch of Kaito Pulse sparked lively community discussion, with many feeling that as market conditions recover, a new wave of 'talk-to-earn' economy is imminent. However, Kaito Pulse quickly ignited a debate within the community regarding privacy permissions.
Kaito Pulse Plugin Accused of Multiple Deep Data Collection Practices
Ultra stated in an X post that by analyzing the Pulse plugin code, it was found that it may involve multiple data collection behaviors, including device fingerprinting, X platform behavior tracking, and third-party account verification.
Among these, the most concerning is the device identification issue. Ultra stated that Kaito Pulse might generate a device fingerprint using information such as GPU rendering results, hardware models, and hardware test audio, linking this information to X accounts, potentially compromising anonymity for multi-account users and community matrix accounts.
Beyond device information, Ultra also questioned the scope of user X behavior data collection by Kaito Pulse. The plugin may record certain user behaviors on the X platform, including browsing paths, content dwell time, click behavior, and follow status, and use periodic requests to determine if a user is active.
Furthermore, third-party account verification is another focal point of controversy. Ultra pointed out that Pulse involves verification processes for ChatGPT, Claude, and multiple trading platform accounts, suggesting these processes might access sensitive data such as user subscription status, usage quotas, and trading account information.
Community Divided: Verifying Authenticity or Sacrificing Privacy?
In the Yaps era, Kaito primarily relied on discussion popularity on X to measure influence. However, as mass content production by numerous accounts became prevalent, the community gradually began questioning: does high popularity equal real influence?
By incorporating more dimensions like on-chain behavior and external account verification, Kaito Pulse aims to reduce the room for gaining rankings solely through posting and interactions, making the influence score closer to a user's real contribution.
But more verification mechanisms also mean users need to grant more data permissions. Consequently, the community has formed two different views on Kaito Pulse:
- Supporters believe that the biggest problem with InfoFi is farming and fake influence, and only by adding identity and behavior verification can a more credible incentive system be built;
- Skeptics argue that platforms should not infinitely expand data collection scope just to improve scoring accuracy, and a new balance needs to be found between user privacy and incentive rewards.
Official Response to Privacy Controversy: Kaito Pulse Does Not Collect User Raw Data
Facing community skepticism, Kaito founder Yu Hu later responded.
Yu Hu stated that Kaito Pulse's design principle is data minimization. The product goal is not to collect user data, but, under active user authorization, to prove certain identities or behaviors through verification mechanisms.
Addressing community concerns about account information, Kaito Pulse does not obtain complete account content from users, nor does it store user raw data. The related processes are primarily used to generate verification results; the platform receives proof information, not the underlying user data.
Regarding the controversy sparked by external account verification, Kaito Pulse uses verification technologies, including zkTLS, hoping to allow users to prove they possess certain off-chain identities or behavior records without exposing the original data.
Simultaneously, Yu Hu acknowledged that the presentation scope of certain permissions might be prone to misunderstanding, and future versions will further optimize permission descriptions and user prompts.
The Next Step for the 'Talk-to-Earn' Economy: Verify Influence, or Surrender Privacy?
The discussion sparked by Kaito Pulse is essentially an unavoidable data dilemma in the InfoFi sector.
In the past, platforms judged an account's value primarily based on follower count, engagement data, and content popularity. However, as AI-generated content, batch accounts, and matrix operations become increasingly common, mere 'discussion volume' has become less and less representative of real influence.
Therefore, Kaito attempts to introduce more verification dimensions, and controversy follows—when a platform wants to further prove 'who you are' and 'whether your views are credible,' users need to surrender more and more information.
For users, installing the plugin to participate in the next wave of the 'talk-to-earn' economy also means they need to reconsider: for the sake of rankings, points, and potential rewards, how much data are they actually willing to open up? Platforms need more data to distinguish real influence from fake hype; but users also need assurance that this data is truly used only for verification and does not become a new digital profile.
Kaito Pulse wants to verify user influence, but as it masters more and more data on devices, behaviors, and accounts, Kaito itself becomes the subject of scrutiny.
