If you need to arrange something with the government, this can increasingly be done online. For example, if you want to file your tax return, but also if you want to file a report with the police or if you want to inspect a certain document at the municipality. You can use your DigiD login for this, so a username and password, but there is also an app for Android and iPhone. And that app, it can do more and more: such as scanning your passport.
DigiD itself recommends the app (which is available for Android and iOS) because you don't have to remember a complicated password. However, you do need to remember a five-digit PIN for it, so whether that makes that much difference is doubtful. The app also works with more security procedures, for example with some logins you have to use a letter code, a QR code and a pin code. That's a lot. Nevertheless, the DigiD app does have its advantages.
DigiD app
The DigiD app is not very exciting in terms of possibilities. It is primarily a way to access websites. When you go to a website on a PC in the browser, you use the app to scan a QR code and access that website. If you open a government website on your smartphone in the browser and want to log in via the app, you need the pin code that you have set in the app.
The DigiD app can do a little more. This has been the case for Android users for years, but only recently for Apple users. We're talking about the ability to verify your ID in the app, giving you more access to government websites. You can scan your identity card, passport or driver's license using the NFC reader in the phone. NFC stands for Near Field Communication, a chip that is present in many smartphones.
NFC
Apple has shut down this NFC chip for app developers and made it available only for Apple Pay. Apple has recently made an exception for the DigiD app. You do need an iPhone of model 7 or higher and running on iOS 13. An Android smartphone must run version 6.0 of Android and higher. In addition, your driver's license must be specific from after November 14, 2014. There is no date for the passport and identity card, they can always be scanned via NFC. DigiD does not store any data by the way. It only registers within your DigiD account when the check has been carried out correctly.
When you scan your identity document with the app, it will be checked with the National Service for Identity Data or the driving license register of the RDW. You can then log in with your DigiD app at organizations that have extra privacy-sensitive information about you, such as health authorities.
Scanning a passport with the DigiD app is done as follows:
- Make sure the NFC reader on your Android phone is turned on. On iPhones, it is always on.
- Open the DigiD app and tap the menu at the top left.
- Tap on ID check and Confirm.
- Enter your PIN and hold the ID against the back of your phone.
- The document will now be scanned and you are done.
The DigiD app has an advantage on top of the normal DigiD username/password login, namely that you can gain more access by scanning your identity card via the NFC reader. This can come in very handy, especially if you want to view medical data or change something.
