MitID: Update enables Danish digital ID activation without passport
An update to Denmark’s digital ID platform MitID will enable the app to be activated on a new device without using a passport, an issue that has previously caused difficulties for foreign residents.
Changes to the MitID digital ID and its website counterpart MitID.dk have simplified verification of a user’s identity when installing the app on a new device.
MitID users who change phones or want to install the app on a backup device no longer have to use activation codes or scan their passport, the Agency for Digital Government (Digitalisaeringsstyrelsen) said in a statement.
The app can now be copied and activated from one smart phone or tablet to a second device by the simpler process of scanning a QR code.
The code can be displayed in the user’s existing app and scanned using the new device.
The update increases security as well as ease of use because scanning the QR code requires the devices to be at the same physical location, according to the agency.
MitID is a digital identity app for mobile phones or tablets used in Denmark to prove identity when accessing government or commercial services online or in apps.
It is needed for pretty much everything you do online in Denmark, including online banking, using payment app MobilePay, accessing government portal Borger.dk and secure digital post and the tax agency’s online portal Skat.dk.
Any legal resident of Denmark over the age of 13 can obtain a MitID.
You no longer need to have a Danish passport (rather than a foreign one) to activate the app online, although this has been the case in the past.
However, it is only possible get MitID using a foreign passport if the passport has a chip. If yours doesn't, then you will need to visit your local Borgerservice office to identify yourself in person.
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about Denmark's MitID app
The update means that the old system of activation codes will be phased out, the digitisation agency said in the statement.
This will help to reduce scams in which victims are tricked by criminals into handing over the codes, it said.
A new function, Kopiér MitID app or “Copy MitID app” has been added to the app. Users can choose this option to duplicate the app on their new device.
The app is available in Danish, English and Greenlandic.
It will remain possible to activate and verify IDs for new MitID users by scanning passports and visiting Borgerservice.
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Changes to the MitID digital ID and its website counterpart MitID.dk have simplified verification of a user’s identity when installing the app on a new device.
MitID users who change phones or want to install the app on a backup device no longer have to use activation codes or scan their passport, the Agency for Digital Government (Digitalisaeringsstyrelsen) said in a statement.
The app can now be copied and activated from one smart phone or tablet to a second device by the simpler process of scanning a QR code.
The code can be displayed in the user’s existing app and scanned using the new device.
The update increases security as well as ease of use because scanning the QR code requires the devices to be at the same physical location, according to the agency.
MitID is a digital identity app for mobile phones or tablets used in Denmark to prove identity when accessing government or commercial services online or in apps.
It is needed for pretty much everything you do online in Denmark, including online banking, using payment app MobilePay, accessing government portal Borger.dk and secure digital post and the tax agency’s online portal Skat.dk.
Any legal resident of Denmark over the age of 13 can obtain a MitID.
You no longer need to have a Danish passport (rather than a foreign one) to activate the app online, although this has been the case in the past.
However, it is only possible get MitID using a foreign passport if the passport has a chip. If yours doesn't, then you will need to visit your local Borgerservice office to identify yourself in person.
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about Denmark's MitID app
The update means that the old system of activation codes will be phased out, the digitisation agency said in the statement.
This will help to reduce scams in which victims are tricked by criminals into handing over the codes, it said.
A new function, Kopiér MitID app or “Copy MitID app” has been added to the app. Users can choose this option to duplicate the app on their new device.
The app is available in Danish, English and Greenlandic.
It will remain possible to activate and verify IDs for new MitID users by scanning passports and visiting Borgerservice.
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