Yoti launches digital identity app to general availability

Digital identity provider Yoti has launched its flagship mobile app to Apple’s App Store and Google Play to enable users to prove their identity easily and securely in person or online. The launch is the culmination of efforts by a team of more than 180 people at the firm, which was founded in 2014.

Yoti provides a secure identity platform for consumers and businesses to combat identity fraud. Users can prove their age, or identity to businesses, confirm the identity of people they meet online, attach verified identities to tickets, and replace online passwords with biometrics.

“As we increasingly live more of our lives online, the way we prove who we are is outdated,” says Robin Tombs, founder and CEO of Yoti. “It’s too easy for people to pretend they’re someone else, or gain access to all of our personal details. This is shown by the continued rise of identity related fraud and issues that cost time, money and inconvenience to many people every day.

“Yoti makes it faster, simpler and safer for people and businesses to prove identities and know who they’re dealing with. We want to build trust and transparency in the personal information people share – making it safer to get stuff done and do the things we love, via a secure platform.”

The app was downloaded by over 141,000 people, including 95,000 in the UK, where the company is based, during its beta phase. It is planning to expand into India, the U.S. and Europe, and targeting over a million users by the summer of 2018.

The app is free for consumers who can set it up in under 5 minutes, by taking a selfie, and scanning a passport or drivers’ license with their smartphone. The digital identity this creates is stored securely with advanced hybrid encryption, the company says, which gives users control over their data, and precludes the possibility of Yoti ever selling user data to third parties.

Businesses can integrate Yoti in hours with its suite of APIs and SDKs.

The company is backed by £23 million in personal investments from UK tech entrepreneurs, and is working with organizations including Worldpay, NSPCC, and Axa Healthcare.

Yoti CTO Paco Garcia explored the role of biometrics in digital banking in a guest post for Biometric Update last year.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  fraud prevention  |  identity verification  |  mobile app  |  selfie biometrics  |  Yoti