EU Digital Identity Wallet faces user oversharing risk

A new study of more than 2,000 participants in Germany, France and Italy finds that users of the upcoming EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet are likely to share more personal data than they consider reasonable at the moment of credential release. The research, combining surveys of experts and controlled user experiments, describes an "oversharing paradox" where the weakest link in the system is not the technology but users’ decisions at the point of data sharing.

At the same time, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has published its first technical specifications for the EUDI Wallet, a key step in implementing the eIDAS 2.0 regulation that entered force in May 2024. The standards will guide member states as they roll out the wallet, which is expected to be available in all EU countries by the end of 2026. The wallet will let citizens store and selectively share digital proofs such as identity cards, driving licences, health records, diplomas and bank confirmations across public and private services.