In Sweden, there's a bunch of very confusing "e-id" things, but it basically boils down to this: you need something called "Mobile BankID".
In theory, there are other solutions, and even "BankID on file", which I currently use. That means you install their cancerware on Windows and don't need any hardware/cards. Sadly, they have no requirement for companies to support this method, so in practice, 99% of all websites that "support" BankID actually only support "Mobile BankID".
"Mobile BankID", as you probably have already guessed, requires a "smartphone" and is an "app" (Android/iOS). I don't have one of those, for multiple reasons. (Privacy, a deep-rooted hate toward them and what they represent, the lack of money to waste on stuff I don't want anything to do with, etc.)
When asking them about this, they basically just respond: "most people use Mobile BankID, so the other ways are being phased out and we cannot force companies or other authorities to support the non-smartphone ones".
So I'm essentially being forced to buy a "smartphone". Which doesn't sound too bad as long as I can remove the battery and SIM card and only mount and start it when I need to "e-sign" something... except there are some serious problems with that:
- It seems like these things (whether Android or iOS based) are not supported for a long time, and then they force you to buy new hardware?
- It seems like these so-called "smartphones" are trending toward not having a removable battery, and soon there may not be any left that let me remove it.
- Same thing with the SIM card which is apparently no longer even an actual card, but just some kind of re-programmable memory.
I have heard that there are soundproof boxes which also block all signals, which would solve the privacy/security issue with the battery/SIM card not being detachable, but I have looked for such a thing for a long time and just can't find anything. And note that I mean in Sweden. I'm sure you can find something on Amazon or something, but they rarely allow shipping to Sweden, or start harassing me whenever I actually try to buy from the USA.
The biggest problem is perhaps the fact that these things "expire" almost like milk. What kind of "smartphone" should I buy if I want like 10+ of OS/software updates for this dedicated "BankID device"? In fact, I wish to never have to upgrade the hardware, if at all possible.
PS: Their third option for BankID, with a hardware non-smartphone device and card, still requires you to run the program on the computer and connect a hardware dongle with USB, so please don't suggest that. And after reading more about it, it's even worse than "Mobile BankID" IMO. Plus the same problem applies there with the lack of support for anything but "Mobile BankID" specifically.
