ID.me

ID.me (formerly TroopSwap and Troop ID) is an American online identity network that allows people to prove their legal identity online. Their users can use that digital credential to access government services, healthcare logins, or discounts from retail brands.[1][2] ID.me is based in McLean, Virginia.[3]

ID.me
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2010 (2010)
Founder
  • Blake Hall
  • Tanel Suurhans
  • Matt Thompson
HeadquartersMcLean, Virginia, U.S.
Area served
U.S.
Key people
Blake Hall (CEO)
Products
Number of employees
700 (2021)
Websiteid.me

In the wake of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ID.me was contracted by numerous state unemployment agencies to verify the identities of claimants. During the COVID-19 recession, ID.me's verification process in several states resulted in lengthy delays that prevented large numbers of legitimately unemployed individuals from accessing their benefits.

History

Origins as TroopSwap and Troop ID

ID.me was founded in early 2010 by Blake Hall and Matt Thompson as TroopSwap, a daily deals website similar to Groupon and LivingSocial with a focus on the American military community.[4][3] The company evolved into Troop ID, which provided digital identity verification for military personnel and veterans.[3] Troop ID allowed service members and veterans to access online benefits from retailers, such as military discounts, as well as government agencies like the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.[5]

Rebrand to ID.me

In 2013, the company rebranded again as ID.me with the goal of providing a ubiquitous secure identity verification network.[4] To that end, they expanded to include verification of credentials for first responders, nurses, and students for discounts. In 2013, ID.me was awarded a two-year grant by the United States Chamber of Commerce to Participate in the President's National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC), a pilot project intended to help develop secure digital identification methods.[6]

In late 2014, ID.me won a contract with the General Services Administration to provide digital identity credentials with Connect.gov. Co-founder Matt Thompson left the company in 2015. In March 2017, ID.me received $19 million in its Series B funding round. In 2018, ID.me became the first digital identity provider to be certified by the Kantara Initiative at the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) IAL2 level.[7]

In 2019, ID.me signed a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer “virtual in-person identity proofing”, allowing veterans to verify their identity with the VA via video call.[8] ID.me also signed a contract with the Social Security Administration for single sign-on, identity management, and multi-factor authentication in 2020.[9] ID.me also began work with the state of California in 2019 to provide REAL ID document pre-screening for DMVs. Listed partners for discounts on ID.me’s website also include Under Armour, Apple, and Lenovo.[10]

State Unemployment

In the wake of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ID.me was contracted by numerous state unemployment agencies to verify the identities of claimants.[11][12][13] ID.me was brought by state workforce agencies to verify identities for unemployment claimants. As of March 2021, the company is now providing identity verification service for 18 states, including validating identities for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.[14]

In most states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New York, and Texas, ID.me's verification process resulted in delays of several months during which legitimately unemployed people went without their unemployment checks.[15][16][17][18][19][20]

In late 2020, the California EDD notified 1.4 million accounts that the EDD suspected were fraudulent that their benefits would be suspended in 30 days unless they were verified by ID.me.[21] News coverage at this time focused on legitimately unemployed individuals who complained that it took as long as 2-3 days to speak with a referee and/or that the EDD did not resume benefits even after they completed the ID.me verification process.[22][23][24]

Services

ID.me offers numerous identity verification products.[10] For "high-assurance" identity verification, the company verifies personal and financial data, including drivers' licenses, passports, and social security numbers.[25] Users must also take a video selfie with their phones, using the ID.me photo app.[26] Users may also need to unlock their credit reports.[27] If ID.me fails to verify users through this information, users are directed to talk to a "Trusted Referee" video call.[28] ID.me has stirred controversy due to long delays on its video call line.[29]

As part of its identification system, the company collects a wide range of personal information, including photographs and identification documents.[30] The company verifies information by sending it to a number of "government agencies, telecommunications networks, financial institutions" and other companies which the company trusts and considers reliable.[30] The company treats Internet Protocol addresses and unique device identifiers as non-personally identifiable, and releases them to third parties, along with location, occupation, language, the list of pages browsed at ID.me, and the URLs visited before and after using ID.me.[30]

ID.me is one of three companies, along with USAA and Zentry, certified to Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) Level of Assurance 3.[31] ID.me's privacy policy states that users must consent before any information is shared with third-party sources. However, its policy also states that "by utilizing your ID.me Account at Third-Party Websites, you are expressly authorizing [ID.me] to share certain Personally Identifiable Information or Sensitive Information tied to your ID.me Account with such Third-Party Websites."[32]

See also

Notes and references
  1. Overly, Steven. "McLean based ID.me wins contract to provide identity software for Connect.gov". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  2. "CFIUS Case Management System". US Department of the Treasury website. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  3. Overly, Steven (July 14, 2013). "Tysons Corner-based ID.me expands online identification network". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  4. Gregg, Aaron (March 8, 2017). "This D.C. start-up is taking on some giant tech companies in the race to simplify sign-ons". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  5. Feinstein, Gregory (March 17, 2013). "Military Verification Service, Troop ID, Raises 2.1 Million". TechCrunch.
  6. "NSTIC, ID.me, Inc". www.nist.gov. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  7. "ID.me Becomes First Identity Provider to Be Approved as NIST 800-63-3 Conformant". Kantara Initiative. 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  8. Medici, Andy. "Identity startup ID.me sees explosive growth, plans to hire 1,000 workers". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  9. "SSA inks 5-year contract for ID.me SSO Solution Annual Software Licenses and Support task". G2Xchange FedCiv. 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  10. "Ecommerce: Verify Eligibility for Exclusive Discounts". ID.me. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  11. "After battling layoffs and scam artists, unemployment fraud victims now battle Indiana DWD". whas11.com. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  12. "How billions in pandemic aid was swindled by con artists and crime syndicates". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  13. "Up to 300K Arizonans going through new verification to get unemployment (PUA) benefits". 7 December 2020.
  14. "Massachusetts unemployment adds anti-fraud identification measures". WWLP. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  15. "ID.me says unemployment delays are not their fault". ABC 15 News Phoenix. March 18, 2021.
  16. "The restart of Colorado's federal unemployment benefits has been uneven as thousands wait for their turn". The Colorado Sun. Feb 1, 2021.
  17. "Security system used for Florida unemployment targeted". 17 September 2021.
  18. "Unemployment filing issues continue, identity verification process is slowing up some". Fox 17 News West Michigan. Apr 17, 2020.
  19. "News10NBC Investigates: Many struggle to get through ID.me process". 16 September 2021.
  20. "Texas Workforce Commission shows problems still remain 16 months after the unemployment surge". 4 September 2021.
  21. "California EDD's mass suspension of accounts hangs over jobless". San Francisco Cronicle. Jan 16, 2021.
  22. "CBS13 Investigates EDD Backlog – Getting Answers From ID.me". CBS 13 News Sacramento. December 28, 2020.
  23. "EDD demands 1.4 million jobless prove their identity or lose benefits; ID verification isn't easy". ABC 7 News San Francisco. Jan 13, 2021.
  24. "Massive EDD delays threaten unemployment pay for thousands in California". ABC 7 News San Francisco. Jan 21, 2021.
  25. "How do I verify my identity?". ID.me Support. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  26. "How do I take and submit a selfie?".
  27. "How does ID.me use credit bureau information?".
  28. "ID.me Support". help.id.me. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  29. "EDD verification delayed by long waits for ID.me". abc10.com. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  30. "Privacy Policy version 6.0.0". ID.me. 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  31. "Trust Services". ID Management.gov. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  32. "Privacy Policy". ID.me. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
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