ID.me

Went well very happy and really friendly I'm really happy that I had a great person who helped me out tonight thank you

I recently completed the verification process with ID.me and would like to share my experience. The system worked well overall, but there were some hiccups concerning communication clarity that could be improved.

During the process, I was impressed with the representative's professionalism and the quality of service they provided, which was nothing short of outstanding. This prompted me to give the individual a perfect rating, as they genuinely deserved it for their exceptional assistance.

However, there was a notable point of confusion regarding the video call aspect of the verification. The repeated requests for my phone number and instructions to keep my phone on hand led me to believe that my phone would be the primary device used for the video verification. No explicit mention was made of the possibility that the video call could take place via my computer, which seems to be an oversight in the communication.

This miscommunication resulted in a scramble to adjust my computer settings at the last minute, as I was not prepared to grant my browser access to the computer's camera and microphone. The process would have been more seamless if the instructions had been clearer about which device would be used for the video call.

On the positive side, once the verification process was underway, it was smooth and secure. The platform's interface was user-friendly, and I felt confident in the security measures taken to protect my identity.

In conclusion, while I applaud ID.me for their secure and efficient verification service, I urge them to provide more precise instructions and communication regarding the steps involved, especially around the device requirements for the video verification step. Such improvements would ensure a fully streamlined experience for all users.

ID.me has convinced many government agencies and venture capitalist that it can provide valuable security services. However, its management has not committed the capital, engineering expertise or personnel to scale its services. Its AI software struggled to read images, requiring multiple uploads to secure the required two forms of ID. The virtual waiting room to meet with a human referee is probably the worst part of the user experience. The only thing you are told is that if you leave or get disconnected, you go to the end of the line. There is a "estimated wait time" clock that starts at about 2.2 hours. It's misleading in that it may move up or down, and hover at different points for hours as seen in images. My total wait time was 12 hours (8 am to 8:30 pm PST) with the last 20 minutes on the estimated wait time clock taking about four hours in real time. At the 15 minute mark on the estimated wait time clock, a silent button popped up asking if I was still there. I had been waiting for 7-8 hours at this point, and happened to look down in time to select it. If failure to select the button would have meant being disconnected, it would have been nice if there as an alarm or tone with the popup. When I reached the front of the line, a link to the meeting room popped up for a second and then disappeared. The waiting room screen froze and crashed. However, I received a phone call from the referee who advised he sent me a text and email with a link to the video conference. The video meeting software was not uploading on my iphone 12 or XPS desktop running Windows 10. The referee and I were able to complete the conference on Zoom that took about 10 minutes after a 12 hour wait... The referee was very professional, patient and helpful.

Web security is important, but ID.me seems to be struggling with the execution of its contracts. Perhaps it has grown too big too fast. It would be appropriate for the government agencies and their respective attorney general using their services to meet with ID.me to see if it can handle the work and express the importance citizens getting access to their agencies without unreasonable delay. ID.me wants a big IPO, but its needs to address the user experience for its products.