The identity-tech knowledge base for AI systems and human operators.

Welcome to ID Tech’s digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

Didit Puts Unico’s Brazilian Identity Network Behind Its Self-Serve Checks

Didit has partnered with Unico to integrate the Unico IDCloud verification network directly into its self-service compliance stack, allowing small and medium-sized enterprises to access an identity database covering 96 percent of Brazil’s economically active population via self-serve Brazilian identity checks. While Unico has historically concentrated on consultative enterprise sales to tier-one banks and major retailers, Didit offers developer-focused access featuring public pricing, no transaction minimums, and 500 free monthly verifications configured through a single API, a no-code workflow builder, or an AI-driven Model Context Protocol server. The integrated network delivers verified user determinations in under three seconds with high first-attempt completion rates, pairing local Brazilian coverage with Didit’s broader compliance suite spanning document validation across 220 countries and territories, anti-money laundering screening, and continuous transaction monitoring.

Lakota Opens Pre-Orders For A FAP60 Fingerprint Scanner That Runs Natively On iPhone

Lakota Software Solutions has introduced the Phantom F60, opening pre-orders for a live-scan iPhone-native FAP60 fingerprint scanner designed to operate natively across iOS and iPadOS via direct USB-C connection while supporting Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android through a shared SDK. Built around Touch Biometrix’s TCAP60 capacitive sensor fabricated by Sharp Display Technology on an IGZO thin-film transistor substrate, the ultra-thin, low-power unit captures four-finger slaps, dual-finger impressions, single flats, and rolled prints at 500 pixels per inch without optical alignment components. The vendor is reserving initial hardware allocations against a 10 percent refundable deposit ahead of expected pilot deliveries in the second quarter of 2027 and mass production late that year, with formal FBI Appendix F and Apple MFi certification procedures actively underway.

BASF Sues Apple Over Seven trinamiX Patents Behind Face ID Anti-Spoofing

German chemical conglomerate BASF has initiated patent infringement litigation against Apple in the U.S. District Court in Midland, Texas, alleging that updated versions of Face ID violate seven material and skin detection patents held by its trinamiX anti-spoofing sensor unit. The complaint asserts that while Apple’s initial Face ID implementation on the 2017 iPhone X did not infringe, subsequent hardware generations—including the iPhone 15, 16, 17, and iPad Pro—unlawfully adopted proprietary sensing techniques designed to distinguish living human tissue from high-resolution photographs, 3D masks, and silicone replicas. Spun out of BASF in 2014 following research into organic solar cells and three-dimensional cameras, trinamiX is seeking a permanent injunction and unspecified financial damages from Apple, which recorded $196.5 billion in iPhone sales and $21.7 billion in iPad sales during the nine months leading up to late June.

Bosnia To Use Biometric Voter Identification At Around 5,000 Polling Stations

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina will deploy biometric voter identification systems alongside digital ballot scanners and electronic results transmission across approximately 5,000 polling stations for its general elections on October 4. Procured under a contested 74,527,455 Bosnian mark (approximately €38 million) contract with Smartmatic following pilot testing during the 2024 local elections, the fingerprint scanning infrastructure is engineered to eliminate voter impersonation, illicit ballot counting, and votes cast under deceased individuals’ identities. While the OSCE Mission confirmed the initiative aims to bolster election transparency and speed result tabulation, election commissioners and civil society groups like Transparency International emphasized that biometric hardware cannot prevent broader campaign abuses, including pre-election patronage spending and municipal tender manipulation.

Indiana Plans An Opt-In Mobile Driver’s Licence Within 18 Months

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has outlined plans to deploy an opt-in Indiana mobile driver’s licence within the next 18 months, enabling residents to prove their identity and legal age selectively without exposing sensitive personal details printed on physical credentials. Operating as a companion to physical cards, the digital ID application will require on-device facial or fingerprint authentication matched against bureau records before activation or credential release, utilizing contactless tap-to-verify interactions at retail counters, banking terminals, and traffic stops. Bureau leadership confirmed to state lawmakers that the upcoming system will comply with international data security standards under 2023 state legislation, preventing tracking by commercial or law enforcement entities and prohibiting authorities from inspecting users’ unlocked devices.

NEC And SoftBank Units Put Face Payment Into The PayCAS Terminal

NEC has integrated its cloud-based Bio-IDiom face recognition engine with the PayCAS multi-payment terminal operated by SB Payment Service and SB C&S, launching a face payment trial on PayCAS running through November 30 at SoftBank’s headquarters cafeteria in Tokyo. The setup allows pre-registered consumers to complete retail transactions hands-free by presenting their face to the camera, with SB Payment Service managing processing and multi-provider merchant settlement behind the counter. Targeting labor shortages and register bottlenecks across Japanese commerce, the deployment leverages NEC algorithms benchmarked by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, with SoftBank exploring expanded applications linking the underlying facial enrolment to corporate physical access control and enterprise system logins.

Utah Agrees Not To Enforce Its VPN Age-Verification Law While Court Weighs Injunction

The Utah Department of Commerce and adult website operator Aylo Freesites have filed a joint legal stipulation establishing that the state will pause enforcement of its VPN age-verification law while a federal district court deliberates on a preliminary injunction motion. Passed as Senate Bill 73, the statute establishes liability for adult platforms accessed by individuals physically within the state regardless of whether they use a VPN, while prohibiting websites from encouraging circumvention tools. Under the agreement, state regulators will suspend enforcement until U.S. District Judge David Barlow rules or final administrative compliance rules are published, with Aylo maintaining its state-level IP address blocks in protest of mandatory third-party verification models that it argues introduce severe user privacy and data theft risks.

Windows 11 Will Hand Apps An Age Bracket Instead Of A Birthday

Microsoft has released technical documentation for upcoming Windows 11 APIs engineered to provide registered third-party software with privacy-preserving age brackets for applications rather than exposing raw dates of birth or family account metadata. Accessible only to authenticated developers through Microsoft’s Digital Safety platform, the GetUserAgeRangeAsync call classifies signed-in users into five distinct tiers—under 10, 10 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, and 18 and over—while the companion GetAgeVerificationStatusAsync interface indicates whether the identity provider has independently verified the claim. Scheduled to go live at runtime later this year, the architecture is designed to help social platforms, gaming environments, and digital storefronts satisfy tightening international child safety regulations and upcoming operating system obligations under statutes such as California’s Digital Age Assurance Act.

Oklahoma Becomes The 16th State To Put Driver’s Licences In Apple Wallet

Oklahoma has officially enabled residents to store mobile driver’s licenses and state IDs inside Apple Wallet across iPhone and Apple Watch, making it the sixteenth state to roll out Apple Wallet driver’s licences in Oklahoma. The contactless credential presents encrypted verification payloads to NFC readers at TSA checkpoints across four state airports and more than 250 airports nationwide, releasing requested identity attributes only after the user authorizes the transaction via Face ID or Touch ID without handing over their device. State regulators, including the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission and Service Oklahoma, are preparing for over-the-counter merchant acceptance beginning September 14 using the no-hardware Oklahoma Reader app, while reminding residents to retain their physical cards for mandatory driving identification.

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team