this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2024

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A passport on your smartphone: EU pledges faster, smoother border checks by 2030 (www.euronews.com)

submitted 3 months ago by fne8w2ah to c/technology

17 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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[+] [email protected] 50 points 3 months ago (2 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Government backdoors are super secure and they're totally the only ones who can access guys we swear!

~~definitely wont have an always online requirement that will fuck you over in a busy place like say, an airport, either~~

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Aren't there already records of all your border crossings? I don't see the difference, what am I missing?

[–] xodoh74984 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

There are. There isn't any difference. It's like people being afraid of facial recognition for border checks. It's creepy at first, but governments already have pictures of everyone's faces from their ID's. They don't gain anything from the additional photo except efficiency to speed up a process that's already in place.

Edit: I will say that I would never want a government app directly linking my ID to my phone unless I could be absolutely sure it wasn't doing anything creepy in the background. I wish sandboxing apps was a default feature for all smartphones.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 months ago (2 children)

This is bad idea. Phones are locked down and centrally controlled, even if the app is going to be FOSS and actually secure.

[–] Badeendje 17 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The current eID system could be used.

Someone that wants to check your password shows you a QR code from the government all and you use the eID to scan and authorize.

The person that shows you the code will then be able to access the information they are permitted to see. Border guard gets a digital ID for example.

Hell this could even work for buying alcohol. Store profile > Check if of legal drinking age. The only thing the person gets back is a green checkmark or a red cross.

The access to your profile is logged to your profile with Date, time, who accessed it, why they accessed it and what access profile they had.

This makes sure it is transparent and that you as a user have control over when it is accessible.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

It was nice to hear it's voluntary. You can have conventional backup if you like.

[–] LordCrom 24 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Good God why do people think this is ever a good idea? I'll keep my paper passport thank you

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

until it doesn't exist anymore

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago

A valid reason to hand over my unlocked phone? No thanks.

[–] duffer 15 points 3 months ago (1 children)

As long as the UK one is blue.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I'm a Canadian immigrant to the UK, from December 1st this year, all Residency proof documents are ~~formed~~ forced digital. As I'm Canadian I can just scan my passport and get in, no visa required. If border control pulls me aside and demands my proof of residency, and I can't access the internet, I may be stuck in a small room for hours or days, or ejected from the country. So that's gonna be fun.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If border control pulls me aside and demands my proof of residency, and I can't access the internet, I may be stuck in a small room for hours or days,

How likely are you to not be able to access the internet at a UK border you might be traveling through? Seriously.

Also, have you heard of a download for offline usage?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

How likely are you to not be able to access the internet at a UK border you might be traveling through? Seriously.

There's been quite a few times where I've not been able to access the internet through my phone at major airports in the UK. Heathrow, Luton, Glasgow. I didn't have an active UK SIM I wasn't able to get net connection through the WiFi as they were overloaded/having issues. This is not uncommon.

Also, have you heard of a download for offline usage?

See, it's not a multi-use thing, it's not like a membership card or a boarding pass or a credit card. It's a code that's generated by logging into the .gov site, and is only valid for a single use, and a limited time.

[+] [email protected] -6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Seems to me that they're are easy solutions to your scenarios.

Ask to use their WiFi that isn't overloaded. Get a working SIM before you travel (eSim perhaps?). Download the one time code and screenshot it. If it's a code like the DVLA driver license check then it doesn't matter how you've saved it. Only that the code is valid when they enter it. Write it down on a piece of paper if you have to.

Ultimately it's on you to understand the requirements to travel to any country you visit and have the correct paperwork. And if you can't do that.... well 🤦‍♂️.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don’t quite understand why you are dismissing this person’s concerns like this. The codes are available for a very short period so there is a chance that if there is a WiFi or other network outage they genuinely could not get to the code.

It’s also not as though the UK has the best record when it comes to managing immigrants despite their promises.

You are welcome to do a quick google on what happened to Windrush immigrants, the trouble that EU immigrants have had post-brexit, and UKVI’s general rules, wait times, and fees. Much like the US, the UK’s immigration policy has been made highly hostile to many forms of immigration, limiting options for families and managing to bungle things at several junctures.

I agree that it is hard to put faith in a system like this where your immigration status relies on the availability of a network or even a single government site with no physical or offline backups.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don’t quite understand why you are dismissing this person’s concerns like this. The codes are available for a very short period so there is a chance that if there is a WiFi or other network outage they genuinely could not get to the code.

Because this isn't the case. They're pretending that they can only get a code when they land in the UK and there's a very real risk that they will be without internet when they've reached the immigration desk. This is BS.

The code is valid for 30-90 days. You're telling me that within 30-90 days of travelling to the UK you can't generate a code and save it or write it down? Seriously?

Here's some googling you might not have done (or OP for that matter).

https://www.gov.uk/check-immigration-status

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/immigration/applying-to-the-eu-settlement-scheme/viewing-your-pre-settled-or-settled-status/

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/support/international/immigration/immigration-status/

And it's not like they are complicated codes that is difficult to write down. They look similar to this: S4WADTYWF.

I agree that it is hard to put faith in a system like this where your immigration status relies on the availability of a network

When faced with new facts would you change your mind? I didn't think so.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

I was not aware the share codes last that long now, the last time I used one (for work, although this was several years ago) it was only valid for 4 days and my employer refused to accept it which was a whole thing. I was under the (incorrect) impression that the system for border clearance would be worse than that. So I have changed my mind on this point despite your flippant comment, which was argumentative for no reason.

On the case of trusting the UK government to manage the immigration status digitally for people I still have my doubts. They don’t have the best track record.

I have my own UK passport now so I am a bit out of the loop but any sort of system where a person doesn’t have offline proof of their status that they can keep seems like it is open to issues (although physical only also has its issues so there are pros and cons no matter how you approach it).