Biometric document
A passport or ID card with a chip that stores the holder's data and photo, signed by the issuing country.
Biometric documents, such as ePassports and most modern ID cards, contain a contactless chip. The chip stores the data printed on the document, the holder's face image and, depending on the country, fingerprints. They follow the international standard ICAO Doc 9303.
Why the chip matters
The chip data is digitally signed by the issuing country. When a phone reads the chip over NFC and checks that signature, it can confirm that the data is genuine and unchanged, which is far stronger than looking at a photo of the document. ID cards issued in the EU since August 2021 have to include such a chip.
Fingerprints on the chip are protected by extra access controls and are not readable by private verification services. The face image and printed data are.
How the chip is unlocked
To prevent anyone from reading the chip from a distance, the reader first needs data from the document itself: either from the machine-readable zone (MRZ) or a card access number (CAN) printed on the card.
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