A Jupiter Study confirms the upturn of digital identity usership as the UK government next prioritises issuing ID cards and digital wallets for citizens. UK residents currently using digital identity apps to verify themselves and log into services are predicted to rise from 6.9 million in 2025 to 25.5 million in 2029.
The state-issued wallet is planned to boost identity verification technology harnessed by the public sector, gaining user trust. It opens up a bill of government documents that will be made available by the end of 2027 including Veteran Cards and DBS checks that all benefit the public user.
The GOV.UK app is crucially underpinned by the security protections of GOV.UK One Login which has been operational for 3 years.
Offering a government-authenticated and standardised approach to digital identity, over 45% of the UK adult population are forecast to use the app by 2029. Overall adoption of digital identities will increase from the public sector whilst the report quantifies a decrease in popularity of third-party verification solutions, perhaps because of the strong regulation around developing the government app.
The app technology is fully aligned with the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework and third-party identity verification vendors can also seek accreditation through the framework. Both regulated platforms offer an interoperable, standardised approach streamlining access to government services. Hence, the GOV.UK app will drive adoption of digital identities significantly over third-party providers.
Third-party apps will grow by just 9% between 2025 and 2029 as a result of the GOV.UK app becoming a primary method of verifying an individual’s information, both remotely and in-person.
The report emphasises that private apps could make more headway by “re-strategising” and “advertising their verification services for onboarding onto the GOV.UK app”, or retain their position within the digital identity ecosystem by seeking certification against the government’s trust framework.
The combination of government certification and third-party verification technologies are critical to satisfying citizens’ concerns around privacy, which have long plagued digital identity growth and adoption.
View the market research from Jupiter: https://www.juniperresearch.com/research/fintech-payments/identity/digital-id-verification-in-the-uk-market/
