# BankID 25 Hacker News commenters recommended BankID and 28 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Widely used Nordic electronic ID, praised for convenience and reliability, though critics say its central system and bank and app-store ties create lock-in. ## Why people recommend it - Widely used for logins (4 comments): "BankID is a widely used authentication system, and most domestic services will use that as a auth / login" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47085770)) "BankID is so common it has become the "Jacuzzi of EID" or the "Google of EID"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48324106)) "in practice most people rely on BankID" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47179354)) - Reliable for years (3 comments): "it has been quite reliable for so many years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46986994)) "works perfectly well for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47486542)) "BankID was working just fine when I was experimenting" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47225210)) - Convenient for daily use (3 comments): "BankID is very convenient, I use it all the time here in Norway" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46122544)) "BankID is very convenient but the lock in is ridiculous" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47087026)) "I can't imagine life without such an easy system." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46624182)) - Works on alternative operating systems (4 comments): "the Swedish bankid at the very least actually does work on sailfish" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47313747)) "BankID, Swish and Swedbank's app work fine for me on GOS" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47484281)) "Luckily it works well on GrapheneOS though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47229771)) ## What people warn about - Requires a Swedish bank account (4 comments): "it is only handed out to people registered with the Swedish tax authorities holding a Swedish bank account." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48736200)) "it is only handed out to people registered with the Swedish tax authorities holding a Swedish bank account" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48733265)) "The worst part of it is that a significant swathe of the population does not have access to bank ID" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48447587)) - Central system is a single point (3 comments): "the central system is a definite weakness, but you can have a card/pin device that still works" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47179495)) "What Norway has sounds pretty crazy to me. If I am reading this correctly, Trump can disable the entire Norwegian healthcare system by calling Apple and Google and having them block BankID." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48760141)) "The Swedish BankID has the same potential weak point. Any centralised system does." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47179222)) - Lock-in to banks and vendors (3 comments): "This is why it bothers me greatly that BankID is still controlled by the banks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49048748)) "BankID is very convenient but the lock in is ridiculous" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47087026)) "I did actually alert BankID about this potential lock-in issue back when they announced they would be abandoning the SIM-based" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48759169)) - Needs Google or Apple account (2 comments): "But I can't use my Norwegian BankID unless I have an apple store or play store account." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48759294)) "I hate loss of privacy and the presumption that everyone has a Google or Apple account" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48327301)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [EU Digital Identity Wallet](https://hackerapproved.com/p/eu-digital-identity-wallet.md): 13 recommend - [DigiD](https://hackerapproved.com/p/digid.md): 11 recommend - [MitID](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mitid.md): 11 recommend - [Login.gov](https://hackerapproved.com/p/login-gov.md): 8 recommend - [AusweisApp](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ausweisapp.md): 7 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.bankid.com/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "BankID", https://hackerapproved.com/p/bankid/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).