Czechs can already use mobile IDs on their phones

The eDoklady app has been operational for about a week now and is enjoying strong interest

On 20 January, the Czech authorities launched eDoklady – the country’s digital identification documents app, which now lets citizens prove their identity through their smartphones. The app will not replace the plastic ID card for the time being, but it is a definite step and a showcase of the things to come as the European Digital Identity is set to roll out across the EU.

Reportedly, the Czech electronic ID was a hit right from the start and in the first four days after releasing the app more than 130,000 people had downloaded it. In fact, there was such a strong initial interest that the Digital and Information Agency, responsible for its maintenance, had to continuously optimize the app’s infrastructure so it wouldn’t crash.

Martin Mesršmíd, director of the agency, stated, as quoted by Czech Daily, “We are constantly fine-tuning it, adding memory, adding servers, optimizing wherever we can handle the load.”

Your phone is a wallet and a folder

eDoklady means eDocuments as it will likely be a folder containing not just one’s identification data but eventually all of the important documentation pertaining to a modern citizen’s life.

The app allows users to selectively share information with verifiers. For example, if a user needs to confirm his or her age, they can do so without also having to show extraneous information such as name and address. Registration for the digital ID must be done in person.

Czech government institutions, such as ministries, already accept verification through mobile ID and from April, the police will do as well. Later in the year, financial authorities and municipal services will also be accepting citizen verification through smartphones.

Biometric authentication on the user’s mobile device is required in order to access the app.