The digital world has accelerated over the past year or so as the coronavirus pandemic has seen the increased need for digital solutions to the problem of social distancing. Concepts such as remote work, virtual conferences, and more have sprung in popularity, showing the amazing way that technology can fill in the gap in the face of increased difficulty.
One development that has also developed over the past year and is expected to change in fascinating ways over the next few years is the digital ID. This article will outline three trends that you can expect in the future. Read on to learn more.
Increased Digital ID Uptake
With more people being lifted out of poverty every single year, as well as the increasing availability of cheap smartphones with internet access and the rollout of 5G, it is easier than ever for people to access the internet, even in the world’s poorest regions. Coupled with a rising population, this means that more people will be forging their digital identity online. This rise in digital ID uptake will create increased complexity for the world, yet the UN has stated that it wants all citizens of the world to have a legal identity by the year 2030. It’s likely that the internet will play a large part in making that aim a reality.
Further Use of Digital Biometric Authentication
The way we currently log into devices on our computer is going to look very antiquated in the years to come. Simply having an email address and a password to protect you from your data still throws up all kinds of issues when it comes to people being able to steal your personal data. While currently, for some digital services, one can expect to use a third party company and show their physical face along with holding up a passport, the future might be as simple as scanning your face on your computer to verify your digital identity and log into public services. This has already proved its popularity in airports and is likely to roll out into the online sphere in the near future.
National Centralized ID
National centralized digital identities have already become a popular option in countries such as Estonia, where everything from voting to filling out insurance forms can be done online, to China, which is aiming to create digital identities for its entire population. Other countries have been studying these types of trailblazers, as well as the ways developing countries in Africa have switched to cashless yet safe mobile payments, finding virtual ways of using your digital identity to pay for goods and services.
Expect to see more countries adopt a centralized digital ID platform that their citizens can log into to access all kinds of governmental services. While this will depend on the amount of nationalization in a particular country, there will be more likely that you can access some or all government services completely online, avoiding long, inessential queues and dealing with civil servants when engaging with bureaucracy.
