New app for the privacy-friendly IRMA ID platform
Joint development team delivers a more intuitive user experience
The app for the IRMA identity platform has been completely redesigned. The new version provides a clearer, more intuitive user experience. It's the product of a large development team, on which the City of Amsterdam and others linked up with Privacy by Design and SIDN, the two organisations behind IRMA. The platform offers a privacy-friendly way of logging in with organisations such as health insurers and local authorities.
IRMA stands for 'I Reveal My Attributes', reflecting what the system is all about: enabling users to log in with service providers without sharing any more personal data than strictly necessary. During the log-in process, the IRMA app passes on only the items of information about the user ('attributes') that the service provider actually needs. That might include the fact that the user is over eighteen, or holds a particular bank account, for example. The IRMA app can also be used to attach digital signatures to contracts and the like, with the user again identifying themselves using selected personal attributes. Therefore no information is shared unnecessarily and the user keeps full control of their personal data.
User surveys
Over the last few months, several user surveys have been carried out to identify ways of improving the IRMA app user experience. The surveys were done by the cities of Amsterdam, Haarlem, Almere and Leiden and supported by NL DIGIbeter (part of the Digital Government Agenda). They involved asking users to set up the IRMA app on their phones and populate it with attributes. Next, users were invited to use the app in simulations of real-world situations, such as logging in to a local authority's 'my account' environment, postcode-based voting on a local planning proposal, and providing proof of age at an entertainment venue. Feedback from participants was then used to guide development of the new app.
Like an ID card
Mark Fonds is Digital Identity Project Leader at the City of Amsterdam and involved in the Dutch capital's IRMA rollout. He particularly likes the new app's intuitive design. "It's based on the kind of ID card that people carry in their wallets or purses," he says. "As well as giving the app a familiar feel and making it easy to understand, the card-based design is a metaphor for one of IRMA's defining features: the user always keeps control of their personal data." Usability Engineer Hanna Schraffenberger worked on the redesign project for the Privacy by Design Foundation. "We started pretty much with a blank page: we took the functionality of IRMA and asked ourselves what the user experience should ideally be. We then married the user experience to the functionality, keeping a sharp eye on the balance between convenience and privacy/security. I'm particularly pleased with the app's new look and feel. It makes a much more professional impression now, encouraging users to have confidence in the app."
Second phase
At the City of Amsterdam, Mark Fonds sees the redesign as merely the starting point for further development. "The second phase is now getting underway. So far, the focus has been on making the app more user-friendly and promoting understanding of what IRMA's for. Attention can now shift to the development of applications that will enable the use of IRMA to access local authority services. When you want to report something or log in to your personal account, for example. In due course, I also envisage IRMA being used for more complex interaction with the city authority, such as authorising someone to act on your behalf." The new IRMA app is free and available for both Android and iOS.
