What is the EUDI Wallet – and why privacy advocates are critical of it

Andreas Wiebe -

The European Union is working on a new digital infrastructure for identities: the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet). At first glance, the idea sounds very practical. Instead of managing ID cards, documents, and login credentials separately in many different places, citizens could use a single digital wallet on their smartphone.

However, while politicians and businesses see the wallet as an important step for Europe’s digital transformation, we would like to warn about potential risks.

What is the EUDI Wallet?

The EUDI Wallet is a planned app that would allow EU citizens to securely store and use their digital identity and official documents on their smartphone. It is part of the EU regulation on digital identity and is intended to be available in all member states.

The wallet works similarly to a digital document folder. It could contain various credentials, such as:

  • National ID card or other digital identity credentials
  • Driver’s license
  • Educational and professional qualifications
  • Insurance certificates
  • Proof of age

With the wallet, users could confirm their identity online or selectively share specific information.

What will the wallet be used for in everyday life?

The EU is pursuing several goals with the EUDI Wallet.

Digital identification
Users should be able to log in to online services or government portals without having to create new accounts or upload documents.

Digital signatures
The wallet is also intended to enable legally valid electronic signatures. Contracts or applications could therefore be completed entirely online.

EU-wide use
Cross-border functionality is another key goal. The wallet should work across all EU countries, for example for:

  • Accessing government services abroad
  • Opening bank accounts
  • Hotel check-ins
  • Renting cars or signing contracts

With this, the EU aims to create a common digital infrastructure comparable to a Europe-wide digital ID.

Why privacy advocates are skeptical

Despite the potential benefits, there are significant concerns among privacy and civil rights groups.

Centralization of sensitive data
The wallet brings together a large amount of personal information in one place: identity data, documents, qualifications, and possibly biometric data.

Such a centralized infrastructure could become an attractive target for misuse or security vulnerabilities.

Data pressure from companies
Another criticism concerns online platforms and companies.

In practice, services could require users to share certain wallet data in order to access their services.

Even if only minimal data would theoretically be necessary, economic pressure could arise for users to disclose more information than needed.

Biometric identity verification
For some use cases—such as opening bank accounts—facial recognition or other biometric procedures are already used today. Privacy advocates fear that the wallet could further expand the use of such technologies and that they could also be misused.

Technical control mechanisms
Another key point of debate is how strictly it will be controlled which data a service is allowed to request.

Critics worry that certain technical protection mechanisms might be optional rather than mandatory. This could weaken oversight of who is allowed to request which data.

The EUDI Wallet relies on mandatory online identification.
If major platforms such as Amazon integrate it, it could eventually become difficult to shop online without an EUDI Wallet.