How Does the Safety of EUDIW Depend on the Liveness Detection?

The latest Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services (eIDAS) regulation (EU 2024/1183) was formally adopted in May 2024. As per Article 6a, every EU member state must offer citizens and residents access to the European Union Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet by 2026.

Initially introduced at the state level, these wallets are not just an alternative to national IDs; they are built to securely share a variety of credentials, such as university diplomas, vaccination records, driving licences, birth certificates, and proof of address.

While EUDI wallets are a key part of this shift, the broader concept of digital identity wallets is designed for both in-person and remote service access. The EUDI Wallets Architecture Reference Framework (Version 1.3, Section 4.2.2.2) highlights this by stating that “the independent remote use of high and solid conviction credentials will require the biometric user verification.”

EU Digital Identity Wallets are Expanding Across Industries Beyond Gov

Aside from government apps, eIDAS regulation enabled the digital identity wallets for smooth access across multiple industries.  

• Users can sign up for Google, Facebook, digital banking applications, and e-commerce forums. 
• Digital identity wallets enable users to securely access their healthcare and insurance records via verified credentials. 
• Globally, they can use digital wallets for travel, immigration, boarding passes, and visa applications.

These wallets claim to provide the user control and comfort, but the major challenge is verifying users who are accessing wallets remotely and validating their authentic presence. Under the unsupervised environment, the biometric liveness detection confirms that only real users are using the digital identity wallets to reduce the lack of human verification.  

Why EU Digital Identity Wallets Need Liveness Detection to Authenticate Users Securely

According to Gartner’s prediction, by 2026, 500 million smartphone users will frequently use digital identity wallets, these users who cover, but are not restricted to, EUDI wallets. This increasing adoption shows a quick reliance on DIW for authentication for remote users, making it important to confirm that only real users can access it.

It is easy for facial recognition to bypass utilizing photos, masks, or deepfakes. All of these spoofing methods can expose the digital wallets to huge safety threats. Therefore, the EU’s eIDAS 2.0 renews support for biometric verification for remote users to access high-assurance credentials. 

How Liveness Detection is Secure for the Authentication of EUDIW

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST FRVT) report shows that even the best-performing facial recognition systems have error rates below 0.25% in ideal conditions. The accuracy rate drops quickly in real-world cases, such as poor lighting or facial occlusion caused by masks, unless liveness detection is used. 
• The iBeta testing lab revealed that facial recognition systems without liveness detection are often deceived by simple replay attacks, like photos and videos. 
• Similarly, the Cloudwards report in 2024 highlighted that only 5% of users completely trust companies while sharing their biometric data, a number down from 28% in 2022. This gradual growing confidence shortfalling the requirement of transparent, privacy-oriented biometric systems that users can depend on.  
• According to Statista, almost 50% of the worldwide industry experts have expectations that facial biometrics to influence authentication during the coming years, particularly for mobile and online ID apps.  

A Secure Future for EU Digital Identity Wallets, Driven by Facia’s Liveness Detection

Government services, banks, and healthcare providers are preparing for EU digital identity wallets, expecting smooth but secure user access. It confirms that only authentic users can show credentials during onboarding or real-time verification, defending actively against the spoofing threat and misuse at the relying party’s side.

To fight against these problems, Facia provides the latest passive liveness detection, authorizing online identity wallet providers to check users within seconds and remotely without any friction. 

It is different from the older systems that depend on the prompt-based production or user gesture. The liveness detection technology of facia is designed to ensure high-assurance identity verification in unmonitored conditions, which is an important requirement as digital identity wallets evolve toward upcoming adoption in industries like banking, healthcare, and government services.

What Makes Facia Different?

• Passive Liveness Detection: Verify authentic users without demanding any movement or action.
• Complies with ISO/IEC 30107-3: Aligns with the industry-specific standards for Presentation Attack Detection (PAD).
• Instant API Integration: Easy to execute on-device or cloud-based systems, which is easy to adopt for any infrastructure. 
• Built for Compliance: Corresponded with eIDAS 2.0, General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), and worldwide digital ID compliance.