EUDI Wallet vs. selfie verification

A wallet verifier checks the requested credential claims, issuer trust, and format-specific presentation proofs. A selfie flow may compare a live capture against an identity-document portrait or another reference; a liveness check assesses whether the capture appears to come from a person present rather than a replay or presentation attack. The exact checks depend on the wallet profile and selfie provider configuration.

• Wallet: issuer-backed identity or attribute claims and supported holder or device binding
• Selfie match: similarity between a captured face and a configured reference image
• Liveness: evidence about capture presence or resistance to spoofing, not issuer authenticity

Wallet requests let a person review and approve the requested presentation in a compatible wallet. A selfie flow asks the person to capture or submit an image or video, and may process facial measurements, document images, or liveness signals depending on the implementation. Compare the actual provider flow, storage, subprocessors, and retention rather than assuming all products behave alike.

• Check credential and wallet availability for the people and markets you serve
• Review image capture, face matching, liveness, false-rejection handling, and accessibility needs
• Set a clear purpose and minimize collection and retention across both methods

A wallet credential can provide strong issuer-backed evidence without itself establishing that a face is physically present at the point of capture. A selfie can provide a capture-time signal but does not establish that the compared document or reference was issued by a trusted authority. Some journeys may use one method; others may have a justified step-up or fallback based on their risk and applicable rules.

• Identify the specific threat or decision each check is intended to address
• Avoid adding biometric capture when the required identity fact is already established by other suitable evidence
• Define a proportionate fallback for unavailable credentials, capture failures, and inconclusive matches