Wuhan rolls out all-in-one ID app

People who live in Wuhan can now enter areas that require ID proof with just a phone, and an app.

The Public Security Bureau in Wuhan, Hubei province, launched a phone app that has eight common electronic identifications: ID card, passport, Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong or Macao, Mainland Residents Traveling to Taiwan Permit, household registration, residence permit, driving license, and vehicle travel license.

Wuhan is China's first city to pilot such electronic identifications.

People moving from other provinces to Wuhan can relocate their household registration through the app, a process that previously required individuals to show up in the public security bureau with ID card.

According to Lei Ji, an officer in the local bureau for household registration, over 42,000 college students have relocated their household registration through the app since August, taking up 70 percent of the total registration.

"The number of household registration is still a lot, but most of those have been done online," said Lei.

A user needs to enter name, ID number and phone number in the app and then undergo facial recognition process to collect the biological features. All different identifications of the applicants will be bundled automatically in their account.

Lei said facial recognition makes online registration possible and efficient, which is secured by a national technology team.

The app also provides QR code for people to go to internet cafe. Nineteen local internet cafes have introduced the app so people can register by the code rather than the ID card to surf online. More internet cafes will join the system.

The app will be used in more real-life scenarios like driving test, hotel check-in and access to residential buildings.