What is a digital identity wallet — and what is it not?

A digital identity wallet is an app that keeps the documents institutions issue to you (a diploma, a student card, an event ticket) on your phone. Documents arrive with the institution's digital signature; when someone asks for one, the wallet shows you who is asking, for what and why, and only the information you approve is sent. Tamga Wallet is such a wallet: EU-aligned, and the first wallet of Tamga Network, though a separate product from the network itself.

What is a digital identity wallet for?

Today, showing a document often means sending a photocopy, a PDF or a screenshot. That has two problems: the other side cannot easily tell whether the document is genuine, and it sees the whole document. A student discount only needs the answer to "are you a student?", yet your student number, your department and sometimes your date of birth go along with it.

A digital identity wallet solves both at once:

• The document can be verified. It carries the institution's signature. A website or a reader checks within seconds that it came from that institution, was not changed and has not been revoked, without calling the institution (what makes a document verified).
• Only what is needed is sent. If a website asks for one piece of information from a document, only that piece is sent; the rest stays on your phone. This is called selective disclosure.

How does it work?

1. Receive. You scan the QR code on the institution's screen with the app's Scan button, or find the institution in the app's list. The document arrives in your wallet. Some institutions may ask for your identity first; for that you verify your identity once, remotely.
2. Keep. The document stays on your phone, encrypted. Neither the app nor the wallet provider keeps a copy; the issuing institution keeps its own record.
3. Show. When a website, a door or a desk asks for a document, an approval screen opens. You see who is asking, which information and for what purpose. Tap Share and approve with your phone's lock (Face ID / Touch ID or the phone passcode), and only that information is sent. If you don't approve, nothing is sent.

What you showed to whom is recorded only in History on your phone. From there you can also ask an institution to delete the information it holds about you.

What is it not?

It is not a photo album of your documents

A document in the wallet is not a picture but a record signed by the institution. Anyone can copy a screenshot; a signed document can only be shown with the key on your phone. That key is created in the phone's key store and never leaves it, so someone who copies your document cannot show it in your place. The app also blocks screenshots on document and approval screens.

It is not a cloud account

Tamga Wallet has no account and no password. Your documents are on your phone, not on a server. You open the wallet with a 6-digit PIN, or with Face ID / Touch ID if you like; the PIN stays on that phone and never goes to a server.

It is not an official government wallet

Tamga Wallet is an independent wallet aligned with the EU's digital identity rules. It is not one of the EU's official wallets or a national identity wallet, and it is not affiliated with any government. The identity credential you get after remote identity verification is issued by the Tamga identity service; it does not replace a government ID. Likewise, the driving licence information in the wallet is not an official driving licence.

It does not hold money

Despite the word "wallet", Tamga Wallet holds no money, cards or cryptocurrency. It holds documents only.

It is not a tracking tool

The wallet gives every institution you show information to a separate copy of the document: the same institution always gets the same copy, different institutions get different copies. So institutions cannot combine what you showed them to link you (how that works). "Sign in with Tamga" also gives every site a separate pseudonym. Even the notifications you get when a document is revoked or about to expire are created on your phone, not sent from a server.

Who issues the documents?

Institutions issue the documents: universities, event organisers and other institutions that join Tamga Network. You get the identity and contact credentials in the app after verifying your identity. New document types arrive as institutions join Tamga Network.

Frequently asked questions

Can I show my documents without my phone?

No. The documents and the key that shows them are on your phone. If your phone is lost, you close your wallet without it using the revocation code shown once during setup: I lost my phone. The full picture is in What happens to your documents if you lose your phone?

What else does an institution learn when I show a document?

Only the information you saw and approved on the approval screen. If a site asks for something outside its registered purpose, the wallet shows a separate warning and holds the "Share" button for a few seconds.

Which documents can I add?

Documents issued by institutions that have joined Tamga Network. You cannot add a PDF or a photo yourself; a document always comes from an institution.

Read more

• How it works
• Security
• Guide