How e-identification works
E-identification is an online document with which you can verify your identity on a computer, smartphone or tablet. E-identification may be useful or necessary when you purchase a product, use an online service, call an authority, contact your bank, etc.
E-identification works like the physical ID card, passport or driving licence that you show when picking up a package, boarding an international flight, etc.
Private individuals currently have access to e-identification from four sources:
- AB Svenska Pass (in Swedish)
- BankID
- Freja eID+
- Telia E-identification (in Swedish) (not obtainable since autumn 2017 but issued e-identifications are valid until they expire)
We will not discuss e-identification that you receive from your employer and that you can use privately as well.
Svensk e-legitimation is a government stamp of approval and reliability
The issuer of e-identification can apply for approval in accordance with Svensk e-legitimation. The government E-Identification Board checks it for reliability. The board also ranks it on the basis of four ascending levels of security.
Two sources of e-identification have received the stamp of approval at this point:
- AB Svenska Pass (security level 4)
- Freja eID+ (security level 3)
BankID have applied for the stamp of approval but the application has not yet been processed.
An e-signature ensures that you have signed a document and that nobody has subsequently changed it
Typical situations in which you provide an e-signature with your e-identification, even if you are not aware of it, are when you file a return on the Tax Agency website or use BankID to Swish money to someone.
An e-signature is more secure than a written signature on a piece of paper. The reason is that an e-signature is added to invisible information about what you are signing. A person who checks your signature can tell whether it was really made with your e-identification and whether someone has changed what you signed.