Review Insights · App Store
GOV.UK ID Check
Government Digital Service · 4,894 ratings · ★ 4.8
4.8
★★★★★
4,894 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 22 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"passport"
8 negative reviews mention this · 36% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Does not read NFC on foreign passport.. I have tried many times and every time I get to NFC on passport it will not scan. My passport is not a UK passport. Is that the problem? I have no other way of accessing the information. Pity as it was easy until this step." - Gr8 dancer92
2
"work"
8 negative reviews mention this · 36% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Doesn’t work. Tried it 3 times and it failed. Now I have to wait for an email response" - geepmeyer
3
"scan"
6 negative reviews mention this · 27% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Does not read NFC on foreign passport.. I have tried many times and every time I get to NFC on passport it will not scan. My passport is not a UK passport. Is that the problem? I have no other way of accessing the information. Pity as it was easy until this step." - Gr8 dancer92
4
"does"
5 negative reviews mention this · 23% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Does not read NFC on foreign passport.. I have tried many times and every time I get to NFC on passport it will not scan. My passport is not a UK passport. Is that the problem? I have no other way of accessing the information. Pity as it was easy until this step." - Gr8 dancer92
5
"frustrating"
4 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Convoluted and confusing. This back and forth between web and app is confusing and convoluted. Seriously frustrating." - Ivim
6
"doesn"
4 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Doesn’t work. Tried it 3 times and it failed. Now I have to wait for an email response" - geepmeyer
7
"doesn work"
4 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
8
"cannot"
4 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Cannot verify me. I provided all the info and can’t be verified" - Lainie4444
9
"times"
3 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Does not read NFC on foreign passport.. I have tried many times and every time I get to NFC on passport it will not scan. My passport is not a UK passport. Is that the problem? I have no other way of accessing the information. Pity as it was easy until this step." - Gr8 dancer92
10
"passport scan"
3 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Passport Scan does not work. I’ve spent the last half hour trying to get my passport scan through only to keep receiving the same error message. And as a result, I can’t seem to verify my identity and and in turn gain access to important administrative documents that I…" - nnay1905
11
"find"
3 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Does not scan says scan the second one. I find it hard to use especially because it on any scan , it says scan the second one you left open!" - quadhd4k
12
"biometric"
3 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "choice of facial recognition software is poor. There are so many better biometric id software solutions available. the one selected by this app is an older legacy tech which have been superseded by far better solutions that would make this app so much more user friendly." - uk2us1
📋 All 22 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Convoluted and confusing
This back and forth between web and app is confusing and convoluted. Seriously frustrating.
Does not read NFC on foreign passport.
I have tried many times and every time I get to NFC on passport it will not scan. My passport is not a UK passport. Is that the problem? I have no other way of accessing the information. Pity as it was easy until this step.
Doesn’t work
Tried it 3 times and it failed. Now I have to wait for an email response
Horrible
I’ve spent 2 hours on this and have problems. I am fairly tech savvy. Do you really want people visiting?
Dr. Own
Its very very complicated
Does not scan says scan the second one
I find it hard to use especially because it on any scan , it says scan the second one you left open!
Can’t link the GOV.UK ID Check app to GOV.UK
Unable to link the ID check app to GOV.UK. Tried for around an hour using both iPhone and IPad, no joy. Frustrating and time wasting. Guidance not helpful. Sort it out please.
Cannot verify me
I provided all the info and can’t be verified
choice of facial recognition software is poor
There are so many better biometric id software solutions available. the one selected by this app is an older legacy tech which have been superseded by far better solutions that would make this app so much more user friendly.
Only use if you have to
Garbage. What’s the point of this. It takes ages to work then cannot confirm who you are.
Does not work
Just keeps crashing!
Inadequate, unhelpful, and frustrating
I am an ex pat, trying to sign onto the government gateway. The multi factor identification requires two of three forms of ID; a current UK, drivers license, a current, UK, passport, or current credit information. As stated, I’ve lived in the US for sometime, and as a result, have no UK drivers license and no UK credit to be found. As a result, I can’t be verified this way. A second option was biometric facial, scanning from my passport. After three attempts this failed as well. On top of all that I’m trying to get help through the online chat service with HM revenue and customs. There was a problem with a Service. I have no way to sign into the gateway. And no help in resolving the problem.
Way over the top!
One would think I was attempting to access top secret national security files rather than the national insurance system!
Impossible to scan chip
Impossible to scan chip big waste of time.
Scanning the biometric chip
I tried scanning the biometric chip, I followed all the instructions numerous times in the 20 minutes before being told there was an error and to start again on the computer. Please sort out glitches
Passport Scan does not work
I’ve spent the last half hour trying to get my passport scan through only to keep receiving the same error message. And as a result, I can’t seem to verify my identity and and in turn gain access to important administrative documents that I very badly need.
Rubbish
Cannot find the chip on a USA passport. So frustrating as my UK passport has expired :(
Didn’t work
Doesn’t work for US passport
Passport scan doesn’t work
The app cannot scan passports correctly. It can scan residency permits if you get it just right, but requires many tries.
Doesn't work
App is supposed to scan a passport, but it doesn't do that (with iPhone 14)
Passport feature does not work
When I try to log into Government Gateway for self assessment thru this app with my US Passport (I am on a work visa in the UK), I receive the error message: “No MRZ code.” No idea what this means, but the app does seem to find my passport as it becomes highlighted with a green border.
Kate
What a badly designed, unhelpful app
Sentiment summary
94%
Positive (4-5★)
2%
Neutral (3★)
4%
Negative (1-2★)