Eesti app will soon be available for identity verification

Eesti app will soon be available for identity verification
Photo: Jake Farra, RIA

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.