Episode 5

Some of the most valuable insights from our research have been about vulnerability, privacy and inclusion. Digital identity systems should improve every citizen’s interaction with the state. But they’re not always designed with the needs of every citizen in mind. This episode includes stories about how enrolling can expose vulnerable users to risk, how disabled users can be excluded from digital identity systems, and four insights from our research team on privacy and vulnerability. Finally, our video explores the common myth that poorer communities don’t care about privacy.

Episode 5 Articles

Enrolling in ID Systems Does Not Always Reduce Vulnerabilities

Enrolling in ID Systems Does Not Always Reduce Vulnerabilities

Authentication (the first step of identification, followed by verification) can be hardest for the most vulnerable in society. Checking if someone is eligible for a government benefit may be demeaning, and depends on the discretion of intermediaries.

What We Have Learnt About Attitudes to Privacy and Vulnerability

What We Have Learnt About Attitudes to Privacy and Vulnerability

At the start of the research process, we asked people how they felt about the potential for their personal information to be revealed if their identity cards were stolen. We found that most people weren’t really too bothered, often because they didn’t feel they had enough money for it to matter. The implication was that as low-income earners, they didn’t matter, and so privacy wasn’t a consideration for them. This was rather unsatisfying for us, as it might be for some of you reading this. Surely, we thought, everyone should be bothered about their data being stolen, or their identity being exposed too widely?

When Systems Are Designed For The Many, Not The Few

When Systems Are Designed For The Many, Not The Few

India’s constitution — as decreed in part IV, by the Directive Principles - clearly states that the country should be that provider of goods and services for all of its diverse citizenry.  But for many citizens, this is not the case.