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Navigating Everyday Life with Digital Credentials: Simple, Secure, and Data-Minimizing

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Several participants stand around a table looking at a smartphone displaying a QR code, with documents and laptops placed on the table
© Felix Adler
Wallet App

With the EUDI Wallet, citizens in the EU will be able to use important digital credentials securely, conveniently, and in a data-minimizing way - without paper documents, right from their smartphone. Whether it's a driver's license, a diploma, or a gym membership card: verified digital credentials simplify many everyday situations and can be shared selectively.

What are Digital Credentials?

Digital credentials are provided in the EUDI Wallet as so-called Electronic Attestations of Attributes (EAAs). Digital credentials are cryptographically secured confirmations of individual personal attributes, such as the vehicle categories on a driver's license. Issued by registered entities such as public authorities, educational institutions, or businesses, they range from certificates and diplomas to official state-issued (identification) documents.

Quickly Explained: Renting a Car with a Digital Credential

How practical digital credentials are in everyday life is best illustrated by a simple scenario:

  1. At the car rental agency, the user opens the EUDI Wallet.
  2. The rental agency, acting as a Relying Party (RP), requests the required attributes from the relevant credential, such as the vehicle categories or the validity period from the driver's license.
  3. The Wallet displays the identity of the Relying Party to the user, followed by the requested attributes. Prior to this, the Wallet verifies that the request matches the use case and attributes registered and published by the Relying Party. If it does not, the request is automatically rejected.
  4. Only after the user's active consent the requested attributes are transmitted. An integrated Proof of Possession ensures that the credential was genuinely issued to the respective Wallet. This prevents theft and unauthorized sharing of credentials with other persons, and may also enable anonymous use of the credential.
  5. The Relying Party, in this example the car rental agency, automatically verifies the authenticity and validity of the credential. The credential is accepted if it was issued by the corresponding (technical) trusted entity, such as the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrtbundesamt) in the case of a driver's license.

All of this takes just a few minutes, reduces manual effort, and speeds up the rental process.

Users Always Remain in Control

All credentials are stored locally on the user's smartphone, without centralized data storage or tracking. The response to a request is sent directly from the Wallet app on the smartphone to the Relying Party. The responses are designed so that (as long as the attributes themselves do not allow it) two responses cannot be linked to each other ("Unlinkability"). Furthermore, all requests are recorded in a dashboard within the app.

Even during on-site checks, the principle of data sovereignty applies: the smartphone stays in the user's hand. Sharing is done deliberately, and data is transmitted contactlessly to another device via QR code and Bluetooth. Unlike simple PDF documents, digital credentials are current and verifiable, meaning expired or revoked credentials cannot be used.

Digital credentials are reliable and practical for everyday use. They simplify processes, protect privacy, and give users full control over their data. The EUDI Wallet is thus a central building block for a secure and user-centric digital future in Europe.