BankID
The most recommended of 7 digital IDs
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.
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.
53 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 25
- criticize it
- 28
- approval share
- 47%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 25 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Widely used for logins
“BankID is a widely used authentication system, and most domestic services will use that as a auth / login”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “I tried building my startup entirely on European infrastructure” “BankID is so common it has become the "Jacuzzi of EID" or the "Google of EID"”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Digital Identity Management in Norway Is a Catastrophe” “in practice most people rely on BankID”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “MitID, Denmarks sole digital ID, has been down for over an hour and counting” - Comment from 23 Feb 2026 in “The Age Verification Trap, Verifying age undermines everyone's data protection”
Reliable for years
“it has been quite reliable for so many years”
Comment from 12 Feb 2026 in “Discord/Twitch/Snapchat age verification bypass” “works perfectly well for me”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “GrapheneOS will remain usable by anyone without requiring personal information” “BankID was working just fine when I was experimenting”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS Foundation” Convenient for daily use
“BankID is very convenient, I use it all the time here in Norway”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app” “BankID is very convenient but the lock in is ridiculous”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “I tried building my startup entirely on European infrastructure” “I can't imagine life without such an easy system.”
Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “Government drops plans for mandatory digital ID to work in UK” Works on alternative operating systems
“the Swedish bankid at the very least actually does work on sailfish”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Jolla on track to ship new phone with Sailfish OS, user-replaceable battery” “BankID, Swish and Swedbank's app work fine for me on GOS”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “GrapheneOS will remain usable by anyone without requiring personal information” “Luckily it works well on GrapheneOS though.”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “I've been running GrapheneOS on my Pixel Fold for over half a year” - Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “MitID, Denmarks sole digital ID, has been down for over an hour and counting”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Requires a Swedish bank account
“it is only handed out to people registered with the Swedish tax authorities holding a Swedish bank account.”
Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “European digital ID wallets are a gift to Google and Apple” “it is only handed out to people registered with the Swedish tax authorities holding a Swedish bank account”
Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “European digital ID wallets are a gift to Google and Apple” “The worst part of it is that a significant swathe of the population does not have access to bank ID”
Comment from 8 Jun 2026 in “Age verification tech could put children at greater risk, says think tank” - Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Digital Identity Management in Norway Is a Catastrophe”
Central system is a single point
“the central system is a definite weakness, but you can have a card/pin device that still works”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “MitID, Denmarks sole digital ID, has been down for over an hour and counting” “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.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” “The Swedish BankID has the same potential weak point. Any centralised system does.”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “MitID, Denmarks sole digital ID, has been down for over an hour and counting” Lock-in to banks and vendors
“This is why it bothers me greatly that BankID is still controlled by the banks”
Comment from 25 Jul 2026 in “Android May Soon Restrict On-Device ADB” “BankID is very convenient but the lock in is ridiculous”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “I tried building my startup entirely on European infrastructure” “I did actually alert BankID about this potential lock-in issue back when they announced they would be abandoning the SIM-based”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” Needs Google or Apple account
“But I can't use my Norwegian BankID unless I have an apple store or play store account.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” “I hate loss of privacy and the presumption that everyone has a Google or Apple account”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Digital Identity Management in Norway Is a Catastrophe”
Other digital IDs people recommend
The four most recommended other digital IDs, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BankIDThis page | 25 | 28 | 47% | 9 | — | — |
| EU Digital Identity Wallet | 13 | 20 | 39% | 8 | — | — |
| DigiD | 11 | 9 | 55% | 7 | — | — |
| MitID | 11 | 21 | 34% | 4 | — | — |
| Apple Wallet Digital ID | 9 | 12 | 43% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 61 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I have thus far managed to use their applications - Swedish BankID and Dutch DigiD being the main ones - without needing to resort to any hostile entities”
“this authentication is annoying for trivial online purchases like this”
“This is why it bothers me greatly that BankID is still controlled by the banks”
“Even the app is warning us it will quit functioning if we don't submit a passport and biometric face scan to some private company”
“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.”
“But I can't use my Norwegian BankID unless I have an apple store or play store account.”
“I did actually alert BankID about this potential lock-in issue back when they announced they would be abandoning the SIM-based”
“it is only handed out to people registered with the Swedish tax authorities holding a Swedish bank account.”
“everything here is more or less hardcoded to bankid not to mention tons of code with presumptions about Swedish identity semantics”
“it is only handed out to people registered with the Swedish tax authorities holding a Swedish bank account”
“BankID I like as it is now for authority stuff and I understand its need. The alternative would be everyone rolling their own auth and MFA, would be bad.”
“The worst part of it is that a significant swathe of the population does not have access to bank ID”
“Especially how it is tied to having a bank account but the login is for everything.”
“I hate loss of privacy and the presumption that everyone has a Google or Apple account”
“BankID is so common it has become the "Jacuzzi of EID" or the "Google of EID"”
“handles it internally in their app but they don't have a good way to use it to sign things”
“works perfectly well for me”
“BankID, Swish and Swedbank's app work fine for me on GOS”
“BankID which is a very secure MFA solution designed for banking purposes”
“the most useful and supported way”
“they use BankID so only I can order an invoice for myself in reputable shops”
“the Swedish bankid at the very least actually does work on sailfish”
“Luckily it works well on GrapheneOS though.”
“BankID was working just fine when I was experimenting”
“Windows is the only platform I use BankID on. The app was updated just a few weeks ago as well”
“it is especially trustworthy as a method of authentication”
“refusing to run if it notices rooting and the like”
“the central system is a definite weakness, but you can have a card/pin device that still works”
“every time you open the app you have to dismiss a dialog”
“works just fine on GrapheneOS”
“in practice most people rely on BankID”
“The Swedish BankID has the same potential weak point. Any centralised system does.”
“It's like bankid or myid works in Scandinavian countries.”
“BankID is very convenient but the lock in is ridiculous”
“BankID is a widely used authentication system, and most domestic services will use that as a auth / login”
“BankID works but not with biometric login”
“it has been quite reliable for so many years”
“I can't imagine life without such an easy system.”
“BankID is very convenient, I use it all the time here in Norway”
“Super practical and I struggle to think of how it would be used to spy on citizens”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.