Germany Gets Busy with ID Upgrade and Mobile Releases

German national ID card (©The Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community/ Bundesdruckerei).

The new design of the German eID has given the card producer, state-owned security printer and solutions provider Bundesdruckerei, the opportunity to upgrade many familiar features to bring them in line with the latest technology and add some new high-security features. The new design is distinguished by an EU flag, in line with Regulation (EU) 2019/1157.

The online ID function (edit) remains an integral part of the ID card. In a technology upgrade to the card, two fingerprints are stored in the chip. As soon as the card is issued, the fingerprints are deleted from the records of the issuing authority (the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community) and the card producer.

With fingerprints as an additional biometric feature, it is easier for the competent authorities to detect misuse of cards by persons of similar appearance. The information stored in the chip is protected against unauthorised access or manipulation.

Smart eID

In a related development, the German federal council, the Bundesrat, has approved smart edit legislation that will allow electronic proof of identity to be stored on smartphones.

The ID card needs to be held up to the smartphone only once, at which point the data on the chip of the ID document is transferred. This makes digital identification without the ID card possible and is completed in just a few seconds. After this one-time procedure, identification verification on the internet without the ID card becomes possible – halving the time it takes to prove your identity digitally.

To address inevitable safety and privacy concerns, there are background checks to verify the validity of your ID card and whether it has been blocked. At the same time, the authorisation of your online service provider to request your data is checked. Online service providers are authorised to request such data only if they have been certified by a public authority.

This double check is not carried out by the online service provider but by an edit server. This rules out the possibility of misuse by a provider directly accessing your data or the use of a blocked ID card.

In order to use the eID function for identification on the internet, with or without an ID card, it must be activated. This means that citizens must have set their self-chosen, six-digit PIN. The PIN can be set when picking up the ID document at the local identity card authority or in an app, such as the AusweisApp2.

Mobile Driving Licence

In a further move to increase citizen convenience, German citizens can now store their driving licence on their mobile with the government app ‘ID Wallet’.

German iPhone users can now secure a digital representation of their identity card and their driving licence on the iPhone. After the ID Wallet was updated to version 1.6, it’s now officially supported by the Federal Motor Transport Authority and Bundesdruckerei.

To activate the driving licence on the iPhone, you first need a valid eID card with an activated online function as described above. After scanning the ID successfully, the driving license can be saved with the ID Wallet app.

In the future, the app could be used by affiliated fleet operators or car-sharing companies to check the driving licence validation. Another option could be to use the ID Wallet app to easily check in to hotels, which is currently being tested (see IDN May 2021).