This Week in Identity, Issue 2
Welcome to Issue 2 of This Week in Identity, a short digest from the Start with Identity community. We read the week's identity and security news so you don't have to, link to the original sources, and add a line on why each one matters. Free, independent, no sponsorship.
The theme this week is national digital identity, both the systems and the laws around them.
The big story
The EU Digital Identity Wallet is racing its end-of-2026 deadline. Under eIDAS 2, every member state must offer at least one wallet by the end of the year. Readiness varies sharply: Denmark and Ireland have opened test wallets, France and Germany lead on developer access, and Germany has said its state wallet will launch on 2 January 2027. Why it matters: this single regulation is pulling 27 national identity systems toward selective disclosure and cross-border use, on a hard timeline. If you operate in the EU, the wallet will become an accepted login and a verification source, country by country. Source: European Commission. Background: our EU Digital Identity Wallet and eIDAS 2.0 pages.
What else happened
- India's DPDP regime set its clock. With the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules notified, the Consent Manager framework becomes operational by 13 November 2026 and the remaining substantive obligations follow by 13 May 2027. Penalties reach up to 250 crore rupees for failing to take reasonable security safeguards. If you process Indian users' data, this is the year to prepare. Source. Background: our India DPDP Act breakdown.
- Passkeys crossed 5 billion. A quick follow-on from last week: the FIDO Alliance's World Passkey Day figure underlines that provisioning is solved and activation is the remaining work. Source. Background: WebAuthn and FIDO2.
New from Start with Identity
This week we shipped the resource we most wanted to exist:
- A directory of national digital IDs and eIDs. 86 schemes across 51 countries, from Aadhaar to Login.gov to the EU wallet, each with how it works, the standards it uses, a privacy note, and the verification vendors that support it. Browse the digital ID directory.
- It connects to the law. Every scheme links to the country's rules in our identity regulations directory, now 39 regulations across 20 countries.
- Three new reads. The global digital ID wave, biometric authentication as a regulatory frontier, and how to vet a national digital ID before you build KYC on it.
From the community
- New to identity, or planning a move? Start with the guided learning path.
- We're recruiting volunteers: news curators, country ambassadors, and jobs scouts. A few hours a week, credited by name.
That's it for Issue 2. Subscribe to get the next one, and send tips or corrections through the contact form.