According to Liisa Pakosta, the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, this is the most important and a very practical innovation of the national application since its launch last December. ‘People, especially young people, don’t always carry their documents with them, but they do have their mobile phones with them. The state has provided the possibility for people to identify themselves and their age in pharmacies, shops, nightclubs, when communicating with the state,’ the minister said, noting that the innovation will undoubtedly attract international attention, as there are only a few countries in the world that offer a similar digital service to their citizens.
Minister Pakosta stressed that, from the service providers’ point of view, this is a strictly voluntary solution, and therefore called on all companies and public authorities that interact with customers to offer the new functionality to people.
The solution will become available in the Eesti app in the first half of July, once the relevant sections of the law have entered into force and the necessary technical changes have been implemented.
According to the Deputy Director General of the Information System Authority (RIA), Taavi Ploompuu, the feedback from users shows that the functionality of using documents in the Eesti app is highly anticipated. ‘Much of our daily life has moved to our phones, and from July we will also be able to access our documents conveniently through our phones. It will certainly take some time for service providers to adapt to the innovation, but I believe that thanks to its practicality, users will be able to use the solution in many everyday situations in the near future.’
According to Ploompuu, technically the solution is already available in the app, but legally users could not use it before the amendment to the Identity Documents Act.
According to the amendment to the Identity Documents Act, service providers can verify the identity of their customers via the Eesti app, which is equivalent to verifying the identity of a customer on the basis of e.g., passport or ID card data.
A customer who wants to use the app e.g., in a healthcare facility, a shop, or at a nightclub entrance must first sign in to the app using Mobile-ID or Smart-ID. From the passport or ID card view, the user can unlock a QR code valid for 3 minutes, which the verifier / service provider can scan with their device.
To read the QR code, the scanner must also use the Eesti app and be logged in – this ensures that all identity verification is done securely within the Eesti app. When scanned, the most important information of the document is displayed for up to 30 seconds.
In addition to the QR code, the document viewer also includes a barcode that can be used in a similar way to a physical document, i.e., presented to a reader for reading to identify the identification code. The service provider can then compare the person with the photo and other personal information that will be displayed.
It is not mandatory for service providers or individuals to verify their identity via the Estonian mobile app. People will be able to use this solution at the service provider if the service provider allows it. It is a modern additional option to verify identity.
Background
Launched in December last year, the Eesti app today offers users nearly 50 services. For example, you can use the app to see details about yourself and your minor children, check the validity of prescriptions directly from your phone, query a wide range of databases, and receive alerts and access national mailbox notifications.
For example, the familiar services from the state portal eesti.ee ‘Me and my family’, ‘Health care and prescriptions’, ‘Pensions and allowances’, ‘Education’, ‘Data tracker’, ‘Consent service’, ‘Traffic’, ‘Will and succession’, ‘Hunting and weapons’, ‘Private person as employer’, ‘Protection of the population’, etc., can be used in the app.
In the basic details of the app, you can see your personal identification code, residential address, and the personal identification code of your minor child. You can also go to the Population Register to file an application for marriage.
The state app is available in Estonian, Russian, and English. The app has passed two security tests, and user-related data is securely delivered to the app through the X-Road data exchange layer.
