General access to the France Identity application is there. Available on iOS and Android, it is used to prove your identity online with a high degree of certainty. The national electronic identity card (CNIe) and the electronic driving license can be added. Finally, it is used for interactions with the administration.
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What is this new France Identity app for the digital identity card?
This is the France Identity application. It is an interministerial program launched in 2018, under the aegis of the Ministries of the Interior and Justice, as well as the State Secretariat for Digital Affairs. The general launch of France Identity on Android and iOS took place on February 14, 2024, after years of development.
France Identity works with France Connect, the single access portal to carry out hundreds of administrative procedures in the country, thanks to a centralized connection system. The application can serve as a “key” to connect to France Connect, providing a high degree of certainty about the identity of the person identifying themselves.
This notion of certainty is part of eIDASa 2014 European regulation which organizes “ secure electronic interactions » between the population, societies and administrations. There are three thresholds: low, substantial and high. The higher the level, the greater the guarantee that the person is who they say they are.
How to have your ID card on your cell phone?
Adding the identity card to your smartphone requires satisfying three prerequisites.
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Identity document, supporting documents, digital identification: what uses should be planned?
The very first use of France Identity is to be able to justify one's identity. The application therefore constitutes an alternative to the classic identity card, whether it is the “old” document or the more recent model, resembling a bank card. It can be used in the event of a police check or during interactions with the administration.
The application can also be used as proof of majority. France requires X sites to verify the age of Internet users, to keep minors at bay — a legitimate objective. The authorities have not detailed the instructions to follow for this. It's up to the porn industry to find a solution. This app might help.
The government is planning a specific application, which will act as an intermediary in order to transmit an anonymous certificate of majority (France Idêtes can be used to create single-use identity documents), according to the so-called double anonymity mechanism. This is crucial given the sensitivity of the subject.
The application can also accommodate other official documents. This is the case with the dematerialized driving license since February 14, 2024. Here again, it is possible to present your driving license in digital form in the event of an inspection, for example. The promise of the digital license was made in spring 2023.
France Identity can also be used to connect to FranceConnect for procedures with the French administration — hundreds of documents are thus accessible through this channel. In the longer term, France Identity must accommodate other official documents and be used for specific procedures, such as proxy voting.
Why the France Identity application when there was Alicem?
A few years ago, the government was at the origin of a first attempt at an application on digital identity. Her name ? Alicem, acronym for “Certified Online Authentication on Mobile”. The project, which made waves in 2019 and 2020, was abandoned. A decree published in April 2021 repealed the 2019 decree devoted to Alicem.
Alicem was supposed to lead to a means of electronic identification, but the project was controversial because it relied on the use of facial recognition. The use of this biometric method had been the subject of heated controversy and action before the Council of State to try to oppose, without success, the processing of biometric data with Alicem.
The government, for a time, defended Alicem. Cédric O, the Secretary of State for Digital, denounced the “ fantasies » on the application. It was only meant to be an alternative way to connect to public services, ensuring the identity of each person with a high degree of certainty. And biometrics is one way to achieve this level of trust.
The exploitation of the face for the purposes of identification and authentication has fueled serious concerns within society for years. It raises ethical issues, because it affects the identity and image of people. It also questions the risks of drift, surveillance and a society in which we become permanently identifiable and identified.
How to get the digital ID card application?
The application requires you to satisfy prerequisites: you must download and install the application on your smartphone. You need to make sure your phone has NFC near-field communication capability. This technology is now common on recent smartphones. You must also have a recent version of the operating system (Android 8 or iOS 16).
Regarding smartphones, the vast majority of models in circulation should be compatible with the application — the idea is to be able to make it accessible to as many people as possible. Please note, entry-level smartphones are not always equipped with an NFC chip. Additionally, simple cell phones are also not supported.
The other prerequisite is possession of the national electronic identity card (CNIe). This actually embeds a secure chip in which personal data appears. This chip also embeds the image of the holder's fingerprints. This is also biometric data, but it will not be read by the application.
You must then follow a configuration path. This includes either the creation of a personal code after identifying yourself with FranceConnect, or the receipt of postal mail. This contains a document in which you will need to scan a QR code and then enter a six-digit personal code.
Tedious steps, which will then no longer be required.
Does digital identity replace the identity card?
The application is not intended, today, to replace the paper identity card. France Identity is an optional solution, which can be ignored in favor of physical documents. That being said, the application has been designed to be easy to use so that the leap to be made is not too great for those who are not very comfortable with computers.
When will the digital identity card application be released?
The official application for the identity card must be available to everyone since February 14, 2024. It has obtained first level security certification of Anssi (the National Agency for Information Systems Security). This certification is the attestation of the robustness of a product, reminds authority.
(update of the subject with the generalization of the application)